Gia Lai: Over 600 food service establishments lack food safety certificates

On November 5, during the Gia Lai Provincial People's Council questioning session, the management of food safety in food services and street food outlets became a key topic. According to Mr. Le Quang Hung, Director of the Gia Lai Department of Health, two serious food poisoning cases linked to bread occurred in the first nine months of 2026, affecting 378 people. Investigations confirmed that one incident was caused by Salmonella spp bacteria.

Mr. Hung noted that bread products pose a high risk as they combine 15 to 20 different ingredients and condiments, yet often lack proper cold storage facilities. Given the hot climate in the Central region, food items are prone to rapid spoilage, creating ideal conditions for bacterial growth if processing procedures are not strictly controlled.

In response, the health sector launched the 'Safe Bread Gia Lai' model at 20 establishments, focusing on controlling raw material origins and implementing QR code technology for consumers to easily verify processing information.

The report indicates that Gia Lai currently manages over 13,300 food establishments. Among food service businesses required to hold an ATTP certificate, over 600 out of 3,300 have yet to be certified. In the first nine months, authorities issued administrative penalties to 187 establishments, totaling over 500 million VND. Laboratory tests also detected E.coli in certain samples of processed meat and 'cha lua' (Vietnamese sausage).

Concluding the session, Mr. Rah Lan Chung, Chairman of the Gia Lai Provincial People's Council, directed the Provincial People's Committee to conduct a comprehensive review and assist establishments in completing legal procedures. Mr. Chung emphasized the need to tighten controls from production and farming to processing to ensure public health and accelerate the expansion of effective food safety management models in the province.