HANOI, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Education and media campaigns on food safety must be raised, local newspaper Vietnam News on Thursday quoted Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung as saying.

    Greater efforts should be made to help people understand the danger of unsafe food and change unhygienic food production and usage habits, he said at a national food safety conference on Wednesday.

    The rate of food producers in the country fully understanding food hygiene and safety is still small, although it rose to 53.8 percent in 2007 from 47.8 percent in 2005, he said.

    The country is regarding changing people's eating habits, especially street food usage, and ensuring food safety as an urgent task. The Vietnamese Health Ministry has certified hygiene conditions for only 6.1 percent of 212,000 street food service facilities.

    Annual investment for food hygiene and safety in Vietnam is only about 1,100 Vietnamese dong (seven U.S. cents) per capita, compared with one dollar in Thailand and 50 dollars in the United States, said Deputy Health Minister Cao Minh Quang.

    Vietnam reported 248 food poisoning cases, which affected 7,300 people, including 55 fatalities in 2007, increasing by 83 incidents and almost 200 victims in 2006, said the paper.