CIRCULAR

ON THE INSPECTION OF FOOD QUALITY, SAFETY AND HYGIENE DURING THEIR PRODUCTION UNDER THE MANAGEMENT OF THE MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 189/2007/NĐ-CP dated December 27, 2007 on defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Pursuant to the Law on Product and goods quality, and the Government's Decree No. 132/2008/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2008, detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Product and goods quality;

Pursuant to the Ordinance on food safety and hygiene, and the Government's Decree No. 163/2004/NĐ-CP dated September 07, 2004, detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Ordinance on food safety and hygiene;;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 79/2008/NĐ-CP dated July 18, 2008, on the system of management, inspection, and tests of food safety and hygiene;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 40/2008/NĐ-CP dated April 07, 2008, on the producing and trading wine;

The Ministry of Industry and Trade prescribes the inspection of food quality, safety and hygiene during their production under the State management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade before being put on the market as follows:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Circular prescribes the inspection of the quality, safety and hygiene of food under the State management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade before putting on the market, including:

a) Beer – Wine – Drink;

b) Milk and dairy;

c) Vegetable oil;

d) Starch and powder.

Article 2. Subjects of application

This Circular is applicable to:

1. Organizations and individuals, that registered for doing business in Vietnam, that produce and process the foods specified in Article 1 of this Circular before putting on the market.

2. The agencies that inspect the food quality, safety and hygiene.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

The terms in this Circular are construed as follows:

1. Facilities that produce and process food (hereinafter referred to as producing facilities) are places where one or multiple processes that change the natural structure of the ingredients, that package and preserve food, take place before putting  on the market.

2. Product quality is the fulfillment of the requirements of the announced standards and the corresponding technical regulations.

3. Food safety and hygiene are the necessary conditions and measures for ensuring that the food does not harm human life and health.

4. Inspection is the assessment of the conformity of the food-producing facilities with the national technical regulations and standards, internal organizations, and current technical provisions on food quality, safety and hygiene.

5. Food testing is one or multiple activities of testing and assessing the conformity of food, food additives, substances supporting food processing, food supplements, packaging, tools, and food containers with the corresponding technical regulations and standards.

6. Putting on the market is the sale, donation, or exchange of food made by the producing facilities with other organizations and individuals.

Article 4. Inspection principles

The inspection of food quality, safety and hygiene must follow the following principles

1. Based on the risk assessment of each kind of food-producing facilities

2. Explicit and transparent; efficient without affecting the production of the inspected facilities.

3. Honest and objective, the members of the Inspectorate are not directly or indirectly involved in economic interests with the inspected facilities.

Article 5. Budget

1. The budget for inspection of quality, safety and hygiene of food before putting on the market is included in the regular expense covered by the State budget under current provisions.

2. The assigned agencies must submit the annual budget plan and estimate to competent authorities for approval.

Chapter II

INSPECTION IN PRODUCTION

Article 6. Bases for inspection

The bases for inspection include:

a) The corresponding technical regulations and standards, the announced standards, the documents on food safety and hygiene promulgated by competent State management agencies;

b) The bases for quality inspection in the Government's Decree No. 132/2008/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2008, detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Product and goods quality.

Article 7. Inspection content

The inspection content includes:

1. The business registration in conformity with the business line;

2. The Certificate of the fulfillment of food safety conditions;

3. The Certificate of knowledge about food safety and hygiene of the facility food safety and hygiene of the facility owner and the people directly producing food;

4. The health-check certificates of employees as prescribed by law;

5. The sheet of periodic water test, for production and life;

6. The Decision on announcing the product standards;

7. The general hygiene conditions applicable to food-producing facilities as prescribed by law;

8. a) The corresponding technical regulations, the standards announced to be applied by food producers;

9. The conformity with the technical regulations and standards of food quality, safety and hygiene, and the provisions on food quality, safety and hygiene promulgated by competent State management agencies;

10. The sample test results in conformity with the announced standards and corresponding technical regulations that have been carried out at the food-testing facility as prescribed by State management agencies;

11. The label content as prescribed by goods labels and law provisions on labeling food;

12. Taking samples for comparing with the products that do not ensure food quality, safety and hygiene as prescribed in Annex III of this Circular;

13. The conditions of food quality, safety and hygiene for the entire production of food, and the technical norms of products;

14. The documents about the origins of ingredients and other documents about the entire production of food;

15. The management of food quality, safety and hygiene applicable to the facilities that employ the quality control systems under ISO 9001 and HACCP, ISO 22000;

16. The nearest inspection records;

17. The License to produce wine, applicable to wine-producing facilities.

Article 8. Planning the inspection

1. Planning periodic inspection

a) Depending on the situation and requirements for inspecting food quality, safety and hygiene of each facility, the inspecting agency shall plan the inspection of food quality, safety and hygiene and estimate the budget for the plan before November 01 every year; the inspection plan must specify the products and inspection contents;

b) The inspecting agency must notify the inspection plan to the producing facility 15 days prior to the date of inspection.

2. Irregular inspection

The inspecting agency shall carry out irregular inspection in the following cases:

a) There are products that violate the provisions on food quality, safety and hygiene;

b) There are warnings from organizations about food quality, safety and hygiene;

c) To the requirements for State management of food quality, safety and hygiene.

Chapter III

RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY OF INSPECTING AGENCIES AND FOOD-PRODUCING FACILITIES

Article 9. Inspecting agencies

1. The Department of Light industry – the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall lead and cooperate with functional agencies affiliated to the Ministries to inspect the food-producing facilities in the list in Annex I of this Circular.

2. The Services of Industry and Trade shall inspect the local producing facilities not in the list in Annex I of this Circular and the food-producing facilities prescribed in Clause 1 this Article at the request of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Article 10. Responsibility and authority of inspecting agencies

1. Formulate and submit the plan for annual inspection of food quality, safety and hygiene to competent agencies for approval.

2. Summarize and reporting the results of inspection to provincial People’s Committees and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

3. Request producing facilities to present the relevant documents and to provide their copies if necessary, and handle violations during the inspection as prescribed in Article 30 of the Law on Product and goods quality.

4. Take samples for testing when necessary.

5. Notify the inspection results to producing facilities; request competent State agencies to handle violations as prescribed by law; announce the list of violating producing facilities on means of mass media if they fail to comply with the requirements in the notified inspection results.

6. Preserve the confidentiality of inspection results, information, and documents of food-producing facilities before having an accurate conclusion.

7. Be responsible before law for relevant inspection results and conclusion.

Article 11. Responsibility and authority of food-producing facilities

1. Provide documents related to the products that need inspection as prescribed in Article 7 of this Circular.

2. Observe the inspection of food quality, safety and hygiene carried out by inspecting agencies, and handling of violations carried out by competent agencies.

3. Send reports to the agencies in charge when the products produced do not ensure food quality, safety and hygiene, on the content and plan for rectify the violating products.

4. Maintain the conditions of food quality, safety and hygiene as prescribed. Rectify the faults stated in the inspection record, and report them to the inspecting agency.

5. Lodge complaints about the conclusion given by the Inspectorate as prescribed by law.

6. Receive compensation for damage as prescribed by law.

Article 12. Handling violations

1. The Inspectorate shall make records, under the form in Annex II of this Circular, on the producing facilities that fail to comply with the production process, the technical regulations and standards of food quality, safety and hygiene, and the documents on food safety and hygiene promulgated by competent State management agencies, and send the inspection results to such producing facilities.

2. For products that do not satisfy the requirements for food quality, safety and hygiene as prescribed, the Inspectorate shall request the producing facility to correct the faults in order to ensure the quality before putting them on the market, request the producing facility to recall the products not ensuring food quality, safety and hygiene that have been putting on the market.

3. If there are proof that the products do not ensure food quality, safety and hygiene, but the producing facility does not comply with the requests from the Inspectorate, or recommits the violation, the Inspectorate shall request functional agencies to handle the situation as prescribed by law, and publicly notify it on means of mass media.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 13. Effect

This Circular takes effect on February 15, 2011.

Article 14. Amendment and supplementation

The Department of Light industry and Services of Industry and Trade are responsible for summarizing the proposals from organizations and individuals about the obstructions during the implementation of this Circular, and sending them to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for amendment and supplementation./.

ANNEX I

LIST OF PRODUCING FACILITIES OF WHICH THE FOOD QUALITY, SAFETY AND HYGIENE ARE INSPECTED BY THE MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE
(Promulgated together with the Circular No. 47 /2010/TT-BCT dated December 31, 2010 of the Minister of Industry and Trade)

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