Homemade food and consumer concerns

Recently, many types of food have been processed by hand and sold on social networking platforms. These foods are considered “homemade” products, do not contain additives, and have carefully selected ingredients... However, many people are worried about whether “homemade” foods can ensure quality and food hygiene and safety (FSH).

According to Ms. Huynh Thi Thu Dung (Binh Kien ward), when the online business model "blossomed", she often ordered food online. She chose familiar establishments, which were made in the form of "homemade". Because of the familiarity, she trusted to buy goods without much calculation. According to Ms. Dung, buying goods at these establishments is better than buying on strange sales sites, where there are mixed goods of unknown origin. "I often buy and use them and I am satisfied. I don't know if the ingredients are carefully selected or not, but when I received the goods, I saw that they were carefully packaged. Although there were no labels, I just thought that they made them themselves and sold them every day, so they didn't invest much in the form," Ms. Dung said.

"Homemade" foods often have no labels, and if they do, they only have some basic information about the product name, phone number... of the supplier. Photo : Vo Phe

In fact, there are more and more spontaneous "homemade" food establishments. The foods for sale are: yogurt, moon cakes, smoked meat, ham, spring rolls, grilled meat, dried chicken, etc. The sellers take pictures and videos of the entire process of preparing ingredients, packaging, etc.; the prices are also relatively reasonable, so many people choose to buy. On the other hand, most of these homemade establishments often advertise their products at times when people's demand increases, such as holidays, Mid-Autumn Festival, Lunar New Year, etc.

Having the opportunity to talk with an individual who often sells “homemade” food on her Facebook page, Ms. TTH shared: Based on my own processing experience and taking advantage of my free time, I made some food myself and then sold it. At first, I just did it for fun, but after a while, I saw that many people had a need, so I maintained this activity.

According to many people, buying and selling food online has become quite familiar to many people, in which "homemade" food is increasingly interested. However, to make people feel secure in buying these types of products, the authorities should also support, have measures to manage and check food safety to protect the health and interests of consumers.

Recently, when the Provincial Interdisciplinary Inspection Team worked on food safety in localities, representatives of some specialized departments informed that the buying and selling of "homemade" food appeared commonly. However, the process of monitoring and checking in reality also encountered many difficulties. For example, when confirming that an individual was advertising "homemade" moon cakes for sale, when arriving for inspection, the facility was closed or open but there was no processing activity; therefore, it was very difficult to check the origin of raw materials, processing tools, food safety, etc.

To protect consumers' rights, the Department of Industry and Trade recommends that people regularly update their knowledge on food safety, carefully research information on food processing and trading establishments, and choose reputable points of sale to avoid false advertising information, thereby avoiding buying poor quality food that does not ensure food safety. The unit also hopes that individuals and businesses will comply with regulations on food processing and selling, especially in the online environment; at the same time, demonstrate responsibility towards society and consumers.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/kinh-te/202510/thuc-pham-nha-lam-va-noi-lo-cua-nguoi-tieu-dung-f5407db/