Circular 35/2010/TT-BYT promulgating the National Technical Regulations for non-alcoholic beverage products issued by the Minister of Health

CIRCULAR

PROMULGATING NATIONAL TECHNICAL REGULATION FOR SOFT DRINKS

THE MINISTER OF HEALTH

Pursuant to the Law on Technical Standards and Regulations dated June 29, 2006 and Government’s Decree No. 127/2007/ND-CP dated August 01, 2007 on elaboration of some Articles of the Law on Technical Standards and Regulations;

Pursuant to the Ordinance on Food Safety and Hygiene dated August 08, 2003 and Government’s Decree No. 163/2004/ND-CP dated September 07, 2004 on elaboration of some Articles of the Ordinance on Food Safety and Hygiene;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 188/2007/ND-CP dated December 27, 2007 defining functions, tasks, entitlements and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health;

At the request of the Director of the Vietnam Food Administration, the Director of the Department of Science and Training and the Director of the Department of Legal Affairs,

HEREBY DECIDES:

Article 1. QCVN 6-2:2010/BYT National technical regulation for soft drinks is promulgated together with this Circular.

Article 2.This Circular comes into force from January 01, 2011.

Article 3. TheDirector of the Vietnam Food Administration, heads of affiliates of the Ministry of Health, affiliates of the Ministry of Health; Directors of Departments of Health of provinces and central-affiliated cities and relevant organizations and individuals are responsible for the implementation of this Circular./.

Foreword

QCVN 6-2:2010/BYT is prepared by the Drafting Committee for national technical regulation on food safety and hygiene for drinks, is presented by the Vietnam Food Administration, and is promulgated together with the Circular No. 33/2010/TT-BYT dated June 02, 2010 by the Minister of Health.

NATIONAL TECHNICAL REGULATION FOR SOFT DRINKS

1. GENERAL

1.1. Scope

This document provides for food safety criteria and requirements for management of soft drinks, including vegetable and fruit juices, vegetable and fruit nectars and soft drinks.

This document does not apply to functional foods.

1.2. Regulated entities

This document applies to:

a) Importers, producers and sellers of soft drinks in Vietnam;

b) Relevant organizations and individuals.

1.3. Definitions

For the purposes of this document, the terms below shall be construed as follows:

1.3.1. Vegetable or fruit juice

refers to a product in which vegetable/fruit juice predominates, which may contain a small amount of vegetable/fruit pulp and may be concentrated to form a concentrated fruit/vegetable juice or fermented to form a fermented vegetable/fruit juice.

1.3.2. Vegetable or fruit nectar

refers to a product obtained by grinding vegetable/fruit cells together with solute, sugars and other additives. The product shall comply with requirements specified in the Appendix of TCVN 7946 : 2008 Fruit juices and nectars.

1.3.3. Soft drink

refers to a product that is obtained from the mixture of water and natural or synthetic substances and may contain CO2.

2. SPECIFICATIONS

2.1. Requirements for quality of water used to produce soft drinks

Water used to produce soft drinks shall meet the specifications in QCVN 01:2009/BYT on drinking water quality promulgated together with the Circular No. 04/2009/TT-BYT dated June 17, 2009 of the Minister of Health.

2.2. Requirements for food safety of soft drinks

2.2.1. Maximum levels for contaminants are provided in the Appendix I of this document.

2.2.2. Microbiological criteria are provided in the Appendix II of this document.

2.2.3. The list of permittedfood additives is pertinent to applicable regulations.

2.2.4. It is permissible to employ test methods with precision equivalent to that of methods defined by criteria specified in the Appendix I and Appendix II of this document.

2.2.5. Codes and full names of sampling methods and test methods are provided in the Appendix III of this document.

2.2.6. The Ministry of Health shall regulate tests for criteria whose test methods are not available in this document according to accredited methods being employed locally or abroad.

2.3. Labeling 

The labeling of soft drinks shall comply with regulations in the Government's Decree No. 89/2006/ND-CP dated August 30, 2006 and relevant written guidelines. 

3. MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS

3.1. Declaration of conformity

3.1.1. Declarations of conformity of imported and domestic soft drinks must be submitted in accordance with regulations of this document.

3.1.2. Methods and procedures for submission of declarations of conformity shall comply with the Regulation on certification and declaration of conformity and conformance under the Decision No. 24/2007/QD-BKHCN dated September 28, 2007 by Minister of Science and Technology and the laws.

3.2. Inspection of soft drinks

The inspection of the quality, hygiene and safety of soft drinks must abide by the laws.

4. RESPONSIBILITIES OF ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS

4.1. Importers and producers of soft drinks shall declare conformity according to the specifications mentioned in this document and register such declarations of conformity with competent authorities defined by the Ministry of Health. Quality, hygiene and safety of the products shall be maintained according to such declarations of conformity.

4.2. Organizations and individuals can only import, produce and sell soft drinks when they complete the registration of the declaration of conformity and ensure that the quality, food safety and hygiene, and labeling thereof are conformable to prevailing laws.

5. IMPLEMENTATION

5.1. The Vietnam Food Administration shall take charge and coordinate with relevant authorities to provide guidance and organize the implementation of this document.

5.2. The Vietnam Food Administration shall, according to its managerial duties, recommend the Ministry of Health to make amendments to this document.

5.3. In the cases where any of the standards and regulations referred to in this document is amended or replaced, the newest one shall apply.

APPENDIX I

MAXIMUM LEVELS FOR CONTAMINANTS FOR SOFT DRINKS

APPENDIX II

MICROBIOLOGICAL CRITERIA FOR SOFT DRINKS

APPENDIX III

LIST OF TEST METHODS FOR FOOD SAFETY CRITERIA FOR SOFT DRINKS

I. Test methods for heavy metal

1. TCVN 7769:2007 (ISO 17240:2004) Fruit and vegetable products - Determination of tin content – Method using flame atomic absorption spectrometry.

2. TCVN 7788:2007 Canned foods - Determination of tin content by atomic absorption spectrophotometric method

3. TCVN 8126:2009 Foods - Determination of lead, cadmium, zinc, copper, and iron-Atomic absorption spectrophotometry after microwave digestion.

II. Test methods for mycotoxin

1. TCVN 8161:2009 (EN 14177:2003) Foodstuffs - Determination of patulin in clear and cloudy apple juice and puree - High performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with liquid/liquid partition clean-up

III. Test methods for pesticide residues

1. TCVN 8171-1:2009 (EN 14185-1:2003) Non-fatty food – Determination of N-methylacarbamate residues – Part 1: High performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with solid phase extraction (SPE) clean-up

2. AOAC 970.53 Organophosphorus Pesticide Residues. Polarographic Confirmatory Method

3. Pesticide Analytical Manual (PAM), Food and Drug Administration, Washington, D.C., USA, Vol. I, 3rd edition, Section 302

IV. Microbiological test methods

1. TCVN 4830-1:2005 (ISO 6888-1:1999, With Amd. 1:2003) Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs – Horizontal method for the enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) - Part 1: Technique using Baird-Parker agar medium.

2. TCVN 4830-2:2005 (ISO 6888-2:1999, With Amd. 1:2003) Vi Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - Horizontal method for the enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) - Part 2: Technique using rabbit plasma fibrinogen agar medium.

3. TCVN 4830-3:2005 (ISO 6888-3:2003), Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - Horizontal method for the enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) - Part 3: Detection and MPN technique for low numbers.

4. TCVN 4882:2007 (ISO 4831:2006) Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of coliforms - Most probable number technique.

5. TCVN 4884:2005 (ISO 4833:2003), Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - Horizontal method for the enumeration of microorganisms - Colony count technique at 300C.

6. TCVN 4991:2005 (7937:2004) Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - Horizontal method for the enumeration of Clostridium perfringens - Colony count technique.

7. TCVN 6189-2:1996 (ISO 7899-2:1984) Water quality – Detection and enumeration of faecal streptococci - Part 2: Method by membrane filtration.

8. TCVN 6848:2007 (ISO 4832:2006) Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs – Horizontal method for the enumeration of coliforms – Colony-count technique.

9. TCVN 7924-1:2008 (ISO 16649-1:2001) Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs – Horizontal method for the enumeration of β-glucuronidase-positive Escherichia coli – Part 1: Colony-count technique at 44 °C using membranes and 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl β-D-glucuronida.

10. TCVN 7924-2:2008 (ISO 16649-2:2001) Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - Horizontal method for the enumeration of β-glucuronidase-positive Escherichia coli - Part 2: Colony-count technique at 44 °C using 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl β-D-glucuronide.

11. TCVN 7924-3:2008 (ISO/TS 16649-3:2005) Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs – Horizontal method for the enumeration of b-glucuronidase-positive Escherichia coli – Part 3: Most probable number technique using 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl b-D-glucuronide.

12. TCVN 8275-1:2009 (ISO 21527-1:2008) Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - Horizontal method for the enumeration of yeasts and moulds - Part 1: Colony count technique in products with water activity greater than 0,95.

13. ISO 16266:2006 Water quality – Detection and enumeration of Pseudomonas aeruginosa – Method by membrane filtration.

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