Vietnam’s Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) will issue an inter-ministerial circular to tighten food safety and hygiene, the online VietnamNet newspaper reported Dec. 23. The move is to strengthen power of authorities and specify detailed responsibilities of the two ministries in the field. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat proposed that either his ministry or the ministry of health take main tasks and the other play a supporting role. Under the current regulation, the MARD is responsible to manage the quality of farm produce on field while the MoH is responsible for trade, transport and processing of agricultural products. The MARD also controls living organisms imported for production activities while the MoH controls imported food for consumption.
