HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội plans to ban street fruit stands and ensure fruit is sold in stores so the city can better manage fruit sales and food safety.

The move is part of a proposal by the city’s Department of Industry and Trade on fruit store planning in inner districts.

According to the proposal, fruit businesses are classified in three groups including those in supermarkets and trade centres, those in wholesale markets and wet markets and street fruit vendors.

The proposal said it’s difficult to control the quality of fruit in the latter two groups.

Vice chairman of the city People’s Committee Nguyễn Quốc Hùng suggested selecting some retail fruit stores for a pilot programme in which they have to meet criteria in infrastructure, hygiene, storage and sellers’ health.

After the pilot stage, the programme could be expanded to all stores in districts in city centre and then the municipal People’s Committee could issue official standards for fruit stores, Hùng added.

District representatives agreed that street vendors should be dealt with first, helping clear the city’s sidewalks of street vendors, a long-standing problem.

Chairman Nguyễn Đức Chung said the Government asked Hà Nội and HCM City to select 200 stores to instal automatic cash registers and Hà Nội selected fruit stores to embark on the practice.

He said that in this month, the trade department would seek stores for the pilot programme and plan to start it next year.

The qualified stores would be promoted to local residents and foreign visitors through the city’s website, he said. — VNS