ADB Food Safety Project

Start date: 13 May 2021
End date: 30 September 2021

Fruit and vegetable can be contaminated with chemicals such as pesticides, heavy metals and nitrates (from fertilizers), and pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and parasites. Food safety is a significant concern in fruit and vegetables because they are often eaten with minimal processing. Urbanization and changing consumer habits in many low- and middle-income countries are driving an increase in food-borne diseases resulting from the consumption of contaminated foods.

Consumers cannot directly observe the food safety characteristics of fresh fruit and vegetables and must place their trust in the supply chain. Effective mechanisms of public and private sector governance are essential to ensure safety and gain consumer trust, but are not easy to implement.

The overall objective of this study is to assess food safety issues in the fruit and vegetable sector in Bangladesh and Vietnam. The project has four parallel work streams:

1. A review of food safety systems in the countries based on literature and interviews with key informants in government, private sector and consumer organizations.
2. An in-depth review of existing laws and regulations regarding fruit and vegetable safety.
3. The identification of critical contaminants and contamination points for fruit and vegetables in Dhaka, Bangladesh and Hanoi, Vietnam. The focus will be on key pathogens and chemicals and on three selected crops per country.
4. Recommend interventions and activities for enhancing food safety

Project partners: Bangladesh Agricultural University and the Vietnam National University of Agriculture.

A report will be prepared that describes and analyzes the situation and provides entry points for improving food safety.

Results summary

Food safety is a growing concern for many countries in Asia. Consumers are particularly concerned about the safety of fruit and vegetables. The objective of this study was to assess food safety issues related to fruit and vegetables in Bangladesh and Vietnam. Data were collected through stakeholder interviews, a review of literature, and an analysis of samples collected from farmers’ fields and wholesale and retail markets in and around Hanoi, Vietnam.

Stakeholders in both countries were particularly concerned about the contamination of fruit and vegetables with chemical pesticides. Foodborne pathogens were generally perceived as a smaller concern, which is a misconception as 82% of samples collected from retail markets had E. Coli above maximum permissible levels while only 2 of 60 samples had pesticide residues above maximum residue limits. Observations of traditional wet markets in Hanoi also showed that the infrastructure in many markets is insufficient, waste is not properly disposed of, overall hygiene is poor, and areas for selling fruit and vegetables are not clearly separated from areas selling animals and animal products.

The government of Vietnam has promoted farmers to form producer cooperatives, which is important as many good practices in production and post-harvest handling cannot be adopted easily by individual farmers and groups are better able to ensure quality. Both Bangladesh and Vietnam have updated their food safety laws and regulations during the last decade and current frameworks largely align with international standards.

Read the full report here.