In support of the 2023 Viet Nam National Action Month for Food Safety, Mekong Institute partnered with the Faculty of Biology-Environmental Science of the College of Science and Education at the University of Da Nang in organizing a workshop titled “Promoting Food Safety Awareness in High School Education in Viet Nam” on May 18, 2023.
Aimed at equipping teachers with the skills needed to integrate food safety concepts and practices into the curriculum, the workshop was attended by 42 high school teachers from Da Nang City and Quang Nam Province.
There is a need to enhance awareness and knowledge around food safety and hygiene in Viet Nam. It is always beneficial to start this in school to ensure the long-term impacts of initiating positive change through students’ behaviors,
The workshop covered a range of topics including the basic science of food hygiene and safety and its benefits, and the causes of food poisoning and measures to prevent it. As part of the workshop, attendees were guided on how to organize classes for food safety surveys, as well as strategies for assessing the current status of hygiene and safety in food through local experiments.
Following the workshop, participants are expected to utilize the knowledge acquired to confidently deliver food safety-related topics in their classrooms, contributing to the new high school program.
The workshop is one of the many activities under PROSAFE, a project being supported by the New Zealand Aid Programme, to establish a food safety culture among stakeholders who are involved in the horticultural value chain. For almost five years, the project has conducted a series of training and support services to improve the knowledge and capabilities of stakeholders in the food sector of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Viet Nam.
