Food and Agriculture Products Quality

Results achieved as of the end of the project (December 2013) include: (1) significantly reducing microbial and chemical contamination following the implementation of good production practices in all four target commodities (with the partial exception of heavy metals in pork products); (2) providing training to 3 115 farmers and national and provincial government partners to improve their ability to apply food safety and quality control tools; (3) upgrading equipment and technical training/coaching in seven laboratories three of which have been selected for international accreditation; (4) training five Vietnamese Masters students at the University of Montréal and close to 1 900 professionals from all 63 provinces on a systematic approach to monitoring the total food system from harvesting to consumption to ensure food safety and prevent food borne illness; and (5) providing technical contributions to 13 new legal documents regarding food safety regulations and providing guidance for the implementation of the new Food Safety Law in Vietnam. These activities have improved the ability of farmers to apply internationally recognized Good Agricultural Practices and standard operating procedures for four key agri-food products (fruit vegetables poultry and pork) significantly reducing the microbiological and chemical contaminants found in these farmers’ samples. This in turn is improving people’s access to safe nutritious food in Vietnam.