On the afternoon of January 7, 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam (MARD) and the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration (DVFA) jointly organized a Conference to kick off a project of strategic cooperation on food safety in the pork value chain.
Among the attendants in the Conference, there were representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam (MARD), Department of Animal Health, Department of Livestock of Vietnam; the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration (DVFA) and representatives of typical businesses in animal feed and veterinary medicine.
Hong Ha representatives attended the Kick-off Conference of Phase II with other large enterprises in the industry
Earlier, in Phase 1 of the Project, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and Mr. Robert Leo Skov, Science Director of the International Center for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS) had signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and ICARS on establishing partnerships in minimizing antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in livestock and aquaculture. Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest threats to health, community and economies in the world. With the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between MARD and ICARS, Vietnam will be one of the first countries to cooperate with ICARS to develop pilot projects to reduce antibiotic resistance in livestock and aquaculture production.
Mr. Knud Ostergaard, Danish Veterinary and Food Administration (DVFA) is making a presentation on the cooperation project.
Also during this period, the project delegation had a practical working session at the factory of Hong Ha Nutrition Joint Stock Company to survey its production conditions, management measures, quality control and hygiene of animal feed. At the factory, together with representatives of Hong Ha, they discussed the animal feed management in the draft Decree and Circular with instructions for enactment of Codes on Livestock. This is an important part of the success of Phase I of the Project, improving the legal basis for husbandry.
The Phase II is deployed for implementation from 2020 to 2022, the Project continues to support Vietnam to strengthen its safety-based food and food safety management system, including the correct use of controlled veterinary drugs. The project will support and facilitate public-private partnerships in relevant areas, including dealing with antibiotic resistance. During this period, the role of large enterprises in the industry is particularly important and they are strategic partners to determine the success of the project. The kick-off conference of the 2nd phase of the Strategic Partnership Project on food safety in the pork value chain aims to improve the safety of animal feed and food in Vietnam, focusing on the Pork chain value. The ultimate goal is to ensure the safety of pork production for Vietnamese health as well as to increase income for the domestic pork production industry.
