- On 19/12/2024, the Minister of Health signed Decision No. 3807/QĐ-BYT approving the project document "Prevention of infectious diseases such as food poisoning in Vietnam by the ATP hygiene monitoring method", which the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provides as grant aid to the National Institute of Food Safety and Hygiene Testing (NIFC).

- After the project implementation period, a meeting introducing the ATP hygiene monitoring method to Vietnam was held, with the aim of introducing the ATP hygiene monitoring method, one of the methods widely applied in Japan, to healthcare staff, food safety management organizations, as well as representatives of institutional kitchens in Vietnam.

- The meeting was attended by representatives from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), together with partners from Japan: Kikkoman Biochemifa (KBC), Acenture Japan (ACN); representatives of food management units from the Hanoi, Phú Thọ and Bắc Ninh Sub-Departments of Food Safety and Hygiene; representatives of healthcare facilities from Bach Mai Hospital and Vinmec International General Hospital; representatives from Mỹ Đình 1 Primary School, along with representatives of several institutional kitchens at industrial parks in Hanoi.

- In his opening remarks at the meeting, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Trần Cao Sơn, Vice Director of the National Institute of Food Safety and Hygiene Testing, affirmed the importance of the Project in building a mindset of preventing food-borne diseases in order to minimize food safety incidents in Vietnam. Mr. Shinoda Takanobu, Deputy Head of the JICA Vietnam Office, then delivered remarks affirming JICA's continued cooperation with Ministry of Health units to improve the effectiveness of hygiene monitoring and food safety management in Vietnam.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Trần Cao Sơn, Vice Director of the National Institute of Food Safety and Hygiene Testing, delivering the opening remarks at the meeting

Mr. Shinoda Takanobu, Deputy Head of the JICA Vietnam Office, speaking at the meeting

- At the meeting, delegates heard an overview report on the project, test results confirming the usefulness of the ATP method, a comparative study between the ATP method and the traditional method, the results of hygiene monitoring trials at 10 institutional kitchens (hospitals, schools, companies in industrial zones), and hygiene monitoring activities at institutional kitchens in Japan (schools, hospitals, food manufacturing companies, etc.). In particular, at the meeting delegates had the opportunity to try the ATP hygiene monitoring method in practice on utensils and hands (before and after handwashing in accordance with the Ministry of Health's procedure).

Delegates performing hygiene monitoring tests using the ATP method (A3)

- Also at the meeting, 20 Lumitester Smart meters were handed over by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and Kikkoman Biochemifa to the National Institute of Food Safety and Hygiene Testing to carry out inspection, monitoring and food poisoning investigation tasks. On that basis, the units proceeded to carry out training activities and support provincial units in food safety and hygiene monitoring activities.

Representatives of JICA Japan and KBC handing over the equipment to NIFC

- At the meeting, many discussion comments from delegates were answered, recorded and consolidated by the organizing board as a basis for further cooperation between Vietnam and Japan in the field of hygiene monitoring and food safety. The meeting brought the Project implementation journey to a close, but also opened up new directions for applying Japanese technologies to address the challenges in food safety management in Vietnam.

Prepared by: M.Sc. Tạ Thị Yến, Department of Science, Training and International Cooperation

Some photos from the meeting

Source: nifc.gov.vn