This document summarizes a pork safety project in Vietnam from 2012-2022. It notes that pork is the most widely consumed meat in Vietnam, with 80% coming from small farms and slaughtered and sold through traditional retail markets. Food safety is a major issue, with an estimated 1-2 out of 10 people suffering from salmonella annually. The Safe PORK project from 2017-2022 focuses on cheap, simple solutions to improve pork safety in partnership with the private sector. Initial assessments found poor food safety and hygiene across retail. Interventions tested included using slaughter grids instead of floor slaughtering and using ozonized water for disinfection. Tailored packages for retailers included antimicrobial cutting boards and training. Laboratory trials showed lower

1. Is pork safe? (PigRISK, 2012–17)
Methods
• Farm to fork approach
• Risk assessment & cost of illness studies
• Intervention trials
 Participatory diagnostic and formative research
(e.g. behavioral nudges)
• Capacity building
Contact
F.Unger@cgiar.org
ILRI Vietnam
This document is licensed for use under the Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International Licence. September 2019.
Problems/issues
• Pork is most widely consumed meat in Vietnam:
29.1Kg/theperson
• Around 80% of pigs
 comes from very small or small farms
 processed in small slaughtering
 marketed through traditional retail addressing
preferences for fresh ‘warm’ pork
• Food safety among the most pressing issues for
consumers in Vietnam
• Food exports relatively well managed but deficits in
domestic markets
• Public most concerned on chemical hazards but
major health risk related to microbiological hazards
• 1–2 person out of 10 (17%) estimated to suffer
Salmonella caused food borne diseaes annually
• Estimated hospitalisation costs of FBD:
• 0.4% of GDP
Safer pork for Vietnamese consumers
Safe PORK project (2017–22)
Focus on cheap, simple and scalable solutions to improve
pork safety in partnership with private sector
Results
Assessment:
Poor food safety outcomes (Salmonella) and hygienic
deficits across all retail types
At slaughter: Using of slaughter grid
Supporting activities:
Laboratory trials
Behavioural nudges
Selected solutions
At slaughter:
Introduction of slaughter grid to avoid floor slaughter
Use of portable ozonised water for disinfection
At retail:
Tailored package: antimicrobial cutting boards, cotton cloths,
frequent W&D and training
Supporting activities:
Increasing transparency in food systems
Laboratory trials
Behavioural nudges
Before During After
The improvement in hygiene (using grid versus floor) was
shown by lower faecal bacteria (p = 0.002) on the grid
carcass surface than the control.
From left: Pig farm, butcher and retail in Vietnam, 2017.
Clockwise: Ozone efficacy, Aqua 21; Grid, Sinh 2016; Soc Son Farm, Safe
Pork 2019.
Test of antimicrobial
efficacy of cutting boards
Impact
Food safety risk management Vietnam
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/vietnam/publication/food-safety-risk-
management-in-vietnam-challenges-and-opportunities
New World Bank initiative for two urban centers of Vietnam
Source ILRI/RVC 2019
Source ILRI SafePORK 2019
Slaughterhouse, Hung Yen with intervention, 2016–2018
Key pork value chains in Vietnam. Source: Research brief ILRI 2019.
Acknowledgment: SafePORK team members, local
authorities and value chain actors.
Retailers consider the
effect of colour on
salience differently:
Blue-clean & red-dirty