Chiayi City Promotes Night Market Food Safety: 169 Food Vendors Stand Out

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit every industry hard, with night market vendors bearing the brunt. Chiayi City turned the crisis into an opportunity, starting with the well-known Wenhua Road Night Market and the Carrefour Night Market, strengthening guidance for vendors to implement self-managed hygiene during the pandemic. The results were recently announced, with a total of 169 night market vendors passing the "Hygiene Self-Management Guidance Certification." In addition, the "Work Clothing and Hat, Transparent Mask Design Competition" held in January, with a top prize of 10,000 yuan, along with the Online Popularity Award and other awards, were also recently announced. On the 21st, the "Work Clothing and Hat and Mask Wearing Guidance Achievement Recognition" event was held at the New Taipei Banquet Restaurant (Branch 2). Chiayi City Mayor Huang Min-hui personally attended to present certificates and banners as recognition, and also showed off her cooking skills, serving up fragrant scallion pancakes. She also encouraged vendors to maintain good hygiene habits and self-management, so that consumers can enjoy night market snacks and cuisine in a clean and elegant environment.

"I wear work clothing, a hat, and a mask, and I'm proud of it!" Mayor Huang Min-hui said that food hygiene and safety is what all consumers value most, and the city government has repeatedly emphasized during promotion that education and outreach must be done at every store in advance, so that everyone can work together. Although pandemic prevention work is important, food hygiene and safety must be maintained on a daily basis. Therefore, the city government's Health Bureau asked relevant associations and stores to work together, wear appropriate work clothing and hats, put on the necessary hygiene and safety equipment, and wear masks, so that consumers can feel more at ease when making purchases. Mayor Huang Min-hui emphasized that with the joint efforts of the city government and all stores, food hygiene and safety has been improved time and again, making people willing to come back again and again. However, the strictest standards must still be used for self-inspection, making Chiayi City the capital of food safety.

This "Hygiene Self-Management Guidance Certification Program" engaged experienced experts from industry, government, and academia to conduct on-site individual food safety and hygiene guidance, with a total of 343 guidance sessions (including repeat guidance sessions), helping vendors understand the food safety deficiencies in their business premises. Vendors also affirmed the Health Bureau's dedication, saying that wearing appropriate clothing, hats, and masks improved the overall image of the night market, and that they ordered transparent cabinets to place food in, giving the public an extra sense of reassurance during the pandemic.