CIRCULAR

AMENDMENTS TO SOME ARTICLES OF CIRCULAR NO. 09/2016/TT-BNNPTNT DATED JUNE 01, 2016 OF THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT ON ANIMAL SLAUGHTER CONTROL AND VETERINARY HYGIENE INSPECTION

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 15/2017/ND-CP dated February 17, 2017 on functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

Pursuant to the Law on Food Safety dated June 17, 2010;

Pursuant to the Law on Veterinary Medicine dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Animal Husbandry dated January 19, 2018;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP dated February 02, 2018 on detailing the implementation of a number of Articles of the Law on Food Safety;

Pursuant to Government’s Decree No. 13/2020/ND-CP dated January 21, 2020 on elaboration of the Law on Animal Husbandry; Government's Decree No. 46/2022/ND-CP dated July 13, 2022 on amendments to a number of articles of the Government's Decree No. 13/2020/ND-CP dated January 21, 2020 on elaboration of the Law on Animal Husbandry;

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The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development hereby promulgates a Circular on amendments to some Articles of Circular No. 09/2016/TT-BNNPTNT dated June 01, 2016 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on animal slaughter control and veterinary hygiene inspection

Article 1. Amendments to some Articles of Circular No. 09/2016/TT-BNNPTNT dated June 01, 2016 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on animal slaughter control and veterinary hygiene inspection

1. Clause 2 Article 4 shall be amended as follows:

 “2. Animals subject to slaughter must have verified origin as follows: It is required to have certificate of quarantine of animals transported out of province (for animals transferred from other provinces); documents including invoices, vouchers and purchase and sale contracts, certificate of vaccination or other equivalent documents or the animals have been declared according to Article 4 of Circular No. 23/2019/TT-BNNPTNT dated November 30, 2019 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on elaboration of some articles of the Law on Animal Husbandry on livestock production activities (for animals in a province) for the purpose of traceability.”

2. Clause 5 Article 5 shall be amended as follows:

“5. Ante-mortem inspection of the cleaning, pasteurization and disinfection of the slaughterhouse, equipment and tools used in the slaughterhouse under the guidance of veterinary authorities specified in QCVN 01- 150:2017/BNNPTNT issued together with Circular No. 13/2017/TT-BNNPTNT dated June 20, 2017 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on the National Technical Regulations in veterinary medicine sector (hereinafter referred to as “QCVN 01-150”).”

3. Clause 6 shall be added after Clause 5 Article 6 as follows:

“6. Post-mortem inspection of the cleaning, pasteurization and disinfection of the slaughterhouse, equipment and tools used in the slaughterhouse under the guidance of veterinary authorities specified in QCVN 01- 150.”

4. The phrase “khoản 6 (Clause 6)” shall be added before the phrase “Điều 6 (Article 6)” in Clause 2, Article 8 and at Point b, Clause 2, Article 9.

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 “c) In the upper left corner of the stamp, there shall be an “animal quarantine” logo whose diameter is 10,5-13mm. The upper right of the stamp shall display the name of the provincial veterinary authority “SUBDEPARTMENT OF ........” in Arial font, bold and size 10-14; if the name of the authority is too long to be fully displayed;”

6. Clauses 1 and 2 Article 31 shall be amended as follows:

“1) Letters displayed on the stamp shall be capital letters in Arial font; if the name of the authority is too long to be fully displayed, the name of the provincial veterinary authority shall be abbreviated

2. The stamp ink must be made of a colorant on the list of food additives permitted for use in food according to regulations of the Ministry of Health; the color of ink must assure legibility and the ink must not become smeared when branded; the stamp ink on carcasses must not change the quality of meat/animal products and adversely affect consumers’ health.

7. Point b Clause 2 Article 32 shall be amended as follows:

“b) Carcasses and meat cuts for sale: 01 “slaughter control” stamp shall be affixed to the shoulder, the belly and the rump (regarding the carcass); or at a position that facilitates the verification of completed veterinary hygiene inspection (regarding the meat cuts).

8. Points a and b Clause 2 Article 35 shall be amended as follows:

“a) The provincial veterinary authority shall assign specific codes to slaughter control and veterinary hygiene stamps according to the regulations on animal quarantine codes to be applied to each district and each slaughterhouse; manage and issue a code of slaughter control to the local slaughterhouse;

b) The code of a slaughterhouse shall contain: 02 (two) first numeric characters indicating province code; 02 (two) next numeric characters indicating the district code; 02 (two) last numeric characters indicating ordinal numbers;

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 “Article 36. Rules for veterinary hygiene inspection at establishments

1. Bases for veterinary hygiene inspection

a) Corresponding standards and technical regulations;

b) Relevant legislative documents;

2. The veterinary hygiene inspection and supervision of the establishments mentioned at Point d, Section 2, Appendix I or the establishments applying for inspection and supervision of veterinary hygiene (at the request of the importing country) shall comply with the regulations of Articles 37 and 38 of this Circular.

3. Certificates equivalent to veterinary hygiene certificate include Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAHP), Global Good Agricultural Practice (GLOBALG.A.P.), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), Food Safety Management System ISO 22000, International Food Standards (IFS), British Retailer Consortium (BRC), Food Safety System Certification (FSSC 22000), Disease Safety Certificate, Certificate of Livestock Eligibility, Certificate of Eligibility for feed production. An establishment that has one of the above certificates is not required to apply for veterinary hygiene certificate, unless otherwise requested by the importing country.

4. The samples taken from the inspections of veterinary hygiene of an establishment shall be analyzed by the laboratory that has a certificate of registration of testing activities in accordance with regulations.”

10.  Article 37 shall be amended as follows:

“Article 37. Procedures for issuance, reissuance and revocation of the veterinary hygiene certificate

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a) Department of Animal Health for establishments whose business operation involves export, a combination of export and domestic sale, or a combination of export and import;

b) Regional Sub-Departments of Animal Health, Regional Sub-Departments of Animal Quarantine under the Department of Animal Health for establishments whose business operation involves export, a combination of export and domestic sale, or a combination of export and import in the provinces and central-affiliated cities. To be specific:

Regional Sub-Department of Animal Health I: Hanoi, Hoa Binh, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, Son La, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Yen Bai.

Regional Sub-Department of Animal Health II: Hai Phong, Thai Binh, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen.

Regional Sub-Department of Animal Health III: Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue.

Regional Sub-Department of Animal Health IV: Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh.

Regional Sub-Department of Animal Health V: Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Dak Nong.

Regional Sub-Department of Animal Health VI: Ho Chi Minh City, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, Long An, Tien Giang, Ben Tre.

Regional Sub-Department of Animal Health VII: Can Tho, Hau Giang, Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Dong Thap, An Giang, Soc Trang, Kien Giang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau.

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Lang Son’s Sub-Department of Animal Quarantine: Lang Son Lao Cai’s Sub-Department of Animal Quarantine: Lao Cai

c) Provincial veterinary authority: establishments that fall outside points a and b of this Clause and establishments that serve domestic consumption.

2. Veterinary hygiene certificate is valid for 03 (three) years. The form of veterinary hygiene certificate shall comply with regulations of Form No. 06, Appendix II issued with this Circular.

3. Application for issuance of veterinary hygiene certificate includes:

a) An application form for issuance/re-issuance of veterinary hygiene certificate, which is made using the Form No. 01, Appendix II issued with this Circular.

b) An original brief description of the establishment which is made using the Form No. 02 in Appendix II enclosed with this Circular.

4. Procedures for issuance of veterinary hygiene certificate:

a) The owner of the establishment shall submit 01 (one) set of application for issuance of the veterinary hygiene certificate to the competent agency specified in clause 1 of this Article. The application can be submitted in person, by fax, by mail, by post or via online public service (the original application will be sent later);

b) Within 01 (one) working day from the date of receipt of application for the veterinary hygiene certificate, the competent agency shall consider its adequacy and send a written notification to the establishment if the application is unsatisfactory; if the owner of the establishment submits the application in person, the recipient shall instruct and respond to the applicant immediately;

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If the establishment that has been issued with a veterinary hygiene certificate by the competent agency specified at Points b and c, Clause 1, Article 37 wishes to engage in export; export and domestic sale; import and export, the Department of Animal Health shall conduct an inspection and acknowledge the duplicate criteria that are satisfactory and issue a veterinary hygiene certificate according to regulations.

5. Procedures for re-issuance of veterinary hygiene certificate:

a) At least 01 (one) month prior to the expiry date of the veterinary hygiene certificate, if the establishment continues its business, it shall submit an application for reissuance of the veterinary hygiene certificate;

The agency competent to reissue the veterinary hygiene certificate, expiry of the veterinary hygiene certificate, application, order and procedures for reissuance of the veterinary hygiene certificate shall comply with regulations of Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article;

b) If an unexpired veterinary hygiene certificate is lost or damaged or information thereon is modified, the establishment must submit an application for reissuance of the veterinary hygiene certificate according to the Form No. 01 in Annex II enclosed with this Circular to the competent agency for consideration;

Within 05 (five) working days from the date on which the application is received, the competent agency shall inspect the application and consider reissuing the veterinary hygiene certificate to the establishment In such case, the expiry date of the veterinary hygiene certificate which is reissued shall be the expiry date of the old certificate. If the application is rejected, the competent agency shall send a written notification that contains explanation.

6. Revocation of the veterinary hygiene certificate:

a) The establishment specified in Point d Section 2 Appendix I issued together with this Circular shall have their veterinary hygiene certificate revoked if the result of the periodic supervision or surprise inspection shows that such establishment does not fulfill requirements for veterinary hygiene;

b) Competence in revocation of the veterinary hygiene certificate:

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7. Requirements to be satisfied by leader, members of inspectorate and sample collector

a) Regarding leader, he/she must be a departmental leader or higher or an official with at least 5 years of experience in state management of veterinary and animal husbandry;

b) Regarding members: at least 01 member has completed a course on assessment of veterinary hygiene of establishments organized by the Department of Animal Health; at least 01 member holds bachelor's degree or higher in animal husbandry or veterinary or fisheries;

c) Regarding sample collector, he/she must have expertise in animal husbandry or veterinary or fisheries; a certificate of training in sampling.”

11.  Article 38 shall be amended as follows:

“Article 38. Contents, methods of veterinary hygiene inspection and supervision at establishments

1. Contents and methods of inspection for issuance of veterinary hygiene certificate

a) Contents of inspection;

Location, infrastructure, factories, equipment, tools, input materials for manufacturing and business and water used for manufacture; employees involved in the manufacture and business and quality management; veterinary hygiene management program in force; management and treatment of solid waste and wastewater and other contents specified in corresponding technical regulations;

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b) Methods of inspection: inspection of records and documents and interview with relevant subjects; inspection of the scene and sampling according to regulations.

2. Contents and methods of supervision of the establishments that have been issued with veterinary hygiene certificate

a) Contents of supervision shall comply with regulations at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article (except for requirement for the location). The contents and results shall be stated in the record according to Form 07, Appendix II issued together with this Circular;

b) Methods of supervision shall comply with Point b, Clause 1 of this Article. The testing samples shall be taken in case it is suspected that the establishment does not meet requirements for veterinary hygiene.

3. Frequency of supervision: every 18 months Regarding establishments that produce and trade in animal products for export, carry out supervision as requested by/at the request of the importing country.

4. With regard to natural disaster or disease prescribed by law: adopt the online assessment method if the manufacturing and business establishment or agency conducting assessment or issuing veterinary hygiene certificate meet requirements for resources and technical equipment (computer, internet connection, software application, audio and video recorders); suspend periodic supervision activities for up to 06 months; or temporarily extend veterinary hygiene certificate by up to 06 months by considering the adequacy and validity of application without conducting a site assessment. Every organizations and individuals carrying out production and business activities shall be responsible to the law for the accuracy of information, documents, images and applications that are provided for the assessment agency. The direct assessment will be carried out after the local agency controls the natural disaster or disease according to the provisions of law; the veterinary hygiene certificate shall be immediately revoked if the organization or individual commits any violation and they shall incur penalties as prescribed by law.”

12.  Article 39 shall be amended as follows:

“Article 39. Inspection of fulfillment of requirements for veterinary hygiene applicable to animals and animal products and animal feeds

1. Animals

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b) Methods of inspection: inspection of documents, clinic inspection and sample collection (if any). (in case the animal has abnormal symptoms or it is suspected that the animal does not meet requirements for veterinary hygiene).

2. Animal products and animal feeds (hereinafter referred to as “products”)

a) Content of inspection: the fulfillment of requirements pertaining to microorganisms, chemistry and physics according to current Vietnamese laws (applicable to products for domestic consumption); laws of the importing country (applicable to products for export);

b) Methods of inspection: sensory evaluation, sample collection (if any) (in case it is suspected that the products fail to meet requirements for veterinary hygiene).

3. Vehicles for transportation of animals and animal products; containers for animal products:

a) Content of inspection: pasteurization, disinfection and compliance with regulations in the technical regulation QCVN 01-100:2012/BNNPTNT on general requirements for veterinary hygiene for equipment and vehicles used for transport of animals, animal’s fresh and primary processing products;

b) Methods of inspection: sensory evaluation, sample collection (in case it is suspected that the vehicles used for transport of animals, animal products, containers for animal products fail to meet requirements for veterinary hygiene).

4. Inspection process

a) The veterinary hygiene inspection of animals, animal products, animal feeds and transport vehicles shall be associated with the site inspection of veterinary hygiene specified in point d section 2 of Annex I enclosed with this Circular.

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5. The analysis of samples that are collected as prescribed in point b clause 1, point b clause 2 and point b clause 3 of this Article shall be conducted by laboratories that have certificate of registration of testing according to regulations.”

13.  Article 40 shall be amended as follows:

“Article 40. Veterinary hygiene and food safety supervision of animals and animal products used as food

1. Subjects of supervision:

a) Animals subject to slaughter;

b) Meat and meat products at slaughterhouses and business establishments;

c) Fresh milk, bee’s honey, salanganes nest at raising, collecting, preparing, processing, storing and trading establishments;

d) Imported animal products used as food;

dd) Other animal products used as food, on request.

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a) Plan for and content of supervision of animal products for import and export: Every year, the Department of Animal Health shall preside over formulating supervision plan and contents, submit them to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development for and provision of funding for implementation thereof; report the results of supervision and analysis of samples and the implementation plan in the next year to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; issue written notification to the competent authorities of the importing country of animal products upon request; issue a written notification to the competent veterinary authority of the exporting country, request investigation of the cause and corrective actions and send a report to the Department of Animal Health if the supervised sample fails to ensure food safety according to regulations of Vietnam;

b) Plans and contents of supervision of animal products that serve domestic consumption: Every year, the provincial veterinary authorities shall make the plans and contents of supervision and submit to the competent authorities under the provincial People’s Committees for approval for such plans and contents and provision of the funding for the implementation thereof. The provincial veterinary authorities shall cooperate with relevant units in implementation of the approved plans;

c) Collection of samples and funding for the analysis of such samples: The Department of Animal Health shall collect samples that serve the examination pertaining to microbiological contamination and analysis of toxic residues in animal products according to the plans which have been approved and funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development;

The provincial veterinary authorities shall collect samples that serve the examination pertaining to microbiological contamination and analysis of toxic residues in animal products according to the plans which have been approved and funded by the provincial People’s Committees;

If the establishments in the approved plan for supervision have the supervision samples that fail to meet the requirements under applicable regulations or the establishments voluntarily apply for supervision or carry out supervision at the request of the importing country, the owner shall pay the costs of analysis of the samples.

d) The inspection and supervision of bee’s honey shall comply with the regulations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on inspection and supervision of veterinary hygiene and food safety for bee’s honey.

3. Veterinary hygiene and food safety supervision shall be carried out as follows:

a) The veterinary hygiene and food safety supervision of animals, animal products used as the imported food shall be carried out together with the quarantine;

b) The veterinary hygiene and food safety supervision of animals, animal products used as the exported food, transported out of a province shall be carried out together with the site supervision of veterinary hygiene specified in Clause 2 Article 38 of this Circular.”

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 “dd) The veterinary staff who is assigned by the competent authority to inspect veterinary hygiene in slaughterhouses and control animal slaughter according to regulations of this Circular shall be trained in veterinary or animal husbandry at intermediate level or higher; trained and issued with certificate of technical training in control of animal slaughter.”

15. A number of points of Section 2 of Appendix I shall be amended as follows:

a) Point a shall be amended as follows:

“a) Animals subject to slaughter.”

b) Point b shall be amended as follows:

“b) Animal products

- Meat, organs, offal, fresh or simply prepared meat products at slaughterhouses, preparing, processing, storing and trading establishments

- Fresh eggs, salted eggs and products that are simply prepared, processed from eggs at raising, preparing, processing, storing and trading establishments

- Fresh milk at raising, collecting, preparing, processing, storing and trading establishments;

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- Salanganes nest at raising, collecting, preparing, processing, storing and trading establishments;

- Animal feeds (according to request of importing country)”.

c) Point d shall be amended as follows:

“d) Hatching establishments; concentrated animal slaughterhouses; establishments for isolation and quarantine of animals and animal products; establishments that process, preliminary process animals and animal products for trade; warehouse for preservation of animal products; markets that trade animals, small markets that trade animals, animal collection establishments; establishments that trade animal and animal products; facilities that test and diagnose animal diseases; animal surgery facilities; establishments that produce animal feeds and other animal products without using as food (at the request of the importing country)”.

16. Form 01, Form 02 and Form 06 in Appendix II shall be amended; Form 07 shall be added after Form 06 in Appendix II according to the form in the Appendix issued together with this Circular as follows:

17. Section 2 of Appendix VI shall be amended as follows:

a) The phrase “bệnh Viêm da nổi cục (LSD) (Lumpy Skin Disease)” shall be added after “bệnh lở mồm long móng (FMD) (foot-and-mouth disease)” in Point b;

b) Point i shall be added after Point h as follows: “i) Bệnh dịch tả lợn Châu Phi (ASF) (“i) African Swine Fever)

Destroy all carcasses and organs of pigs that are infected and cross-contaminated throughout the process of slaughter.

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The cleaning, pasteurization and disinfection of the slaughterhouse shall be carried out before its resumption

Article 2. Replacement and removal of some phrases, points, Appendix of Circular No. 09/2016/TT-BNNPTNT dated June 01, 2016 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on animal slaughter control and veterinary hygiene inspection

1. Remove the phrase “trang phục bảo hộ trong lúc làm việc (protective clothing)” from Clause 2. Remove the phrase "sạch (clean)” from point c Clause 3 Article 5.

2. Replace the phrase “đường kính của biểu tượng là 14-15 mm (logo of animal quarantine whose diameter is 14-15 mm)” with the phrase “đường kính của biểu tượng là 10,5-13mm (an “animal quarantine” logo whose diameter is 10,5-13mm)" at point c Clause 1 Article 28.

3. Replace the phrase “Sử dụng Tem vệ sinh thú y đối với thân thịt hoặc sản phẩm động vật được bao gói kín như sau:(Regarding tightly packaged carcasses or animal products:)” with the phrase “Tem vệ sinh thú y chỉ được sử dụng đối với thân thịt hoặc sản phẩm động vật được bao gói kín, cụ thể như sau: (Veterinary hygiene stamps intended for packaged carcasses or animal products:) ” at Clause 1 Article 30

4. a) Remove the phrase “tiêu thụ nội địa (domestic consumption)” from Clause 6 Article 31

5. Replace the phrase “Cơ quan Thú y vùng II (the veterinary authority of II area)” with the phrase “Chi cục Thú y vùng II (Regional Sub-Department of Animal Health II)” at point b Clause 1 Article 35.

6. Annul point c, Section 2, Appendix I.

7. Annul Appendix VII.

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1. Any veterinary hygiene certificate issued before the effective date of this Circular may be used until its expiry date.

2. Any veterinary hygiene stamps intended for establishments whose business operation involves export, a combination of export and domestic sale that have been printed before the effective date of this Circular may be used until December 31, 2023.

3. Any slaughter control stamps that are unconformable to regulations in this Circular may be used until December 31, 2023.

Article 4: Entry into force

1. This Circular comes into force as of October 30, 2022.

2. Director of Department of Animal Health, the relevant organizations and individuals shall be responsible for the implementation of this Circular.

Any difficulty or problem that arises during the implementation of this Circular should be reported to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (via the Department of Animal Health) for consideration and amendments.

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