The Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has been focusing on upgrading the system of quality analysis, testing and certification for agricultural products to make it meet the regulatory requirements in the field of food safety.

Since 2014, the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has established a specialized center, for which it allocated resources and purchased more than 100 machineries and equipment. As a result, the department has basically met the requirements of quality analysis, testing and certification for agricultural products.

Currently, the department is maintaining the standard ISO/IEC 17025:2017 for its laboratory accredited by the Ministry of Science and Technology in the field of biochemistry. Besides, it has kept expanding the branches of testing activities in accordance with the Vietnamese Government's regulation.

Functional forces take food samples to analyze safety criteria at a facility in Hanoi. Photo: Tung Nguyen

The Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is also developing the capacity to certify products in accordance with ISO/IEC 17065:2013 standards and the quality management system ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015.

In addition, the department maintains the designation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development specialized for certification programs including VietGAP for cultivation, VietGAP for livestock, VietGAP for aquatic products, organic agriculture and products, and product certification in line with Vietnamese standards (TCVN) and ISO 9001 system.

Currently, the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is preparing documents, procedures, and conditions for re-evaluating laboratory capacity under ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and ISO/IEC 17065:2012 standards for competence of testing and calibration laboratories and conformity assessment, respectively. It is expected to coordinate with ministries and branches to organize re-evaluation and re-accreditation in the third quarter of 2022.

The quality analysis and certification capacity of farm produce and foodstuffs of Hanoi's agricultural sector have basically met the requirements of State management. However, its product evaluation currently stops at analysis and certification according to domestic standards.

Besides, people’s awareness of certified products still remains poor.

The director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chu Phu My, told The Hanoi Times that the trend of economic integration, export orientation of agricultural production in the city requires the capacity for analysis and certification to be further improved.

“In the coming time, Hanoi's agricultural sector will focus on the analysis and certification of products in accordance with international standards, especially standards for organic products. Hanoi's goods can join new certification programs, including Sustainable Management Certificate (FSC),   Good Agricultural Practices (Global GAP), or ISO 22,000:2018, among others,” My said.

He added that between now and the end of 2022, his department will focus on preparing facilities and standardizing laboratory conditions to fully meet the conditions to participate in the national testing and certification system.