MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE | SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM |
No.: 43/2018/TT-BCT | Hanoi, November 15, 2018 |
CIRCULAR
STIPULATING FOOD SAFETY MANAGEMENT BY THE MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE
Pursuant to the Law on Food Safety dated June 17, 2010;
Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 98/2017/ND-CP dated August 18, 2017, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;
Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 77/2016/ND-CP dated July 01, 2016 on amendments to regulations on investment and trading conditions in international trade in goods, chemicals, industrial explosives, fertilizers, gas business and food business under the state management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;
Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 107/2016/ND-CP dated July 01, 2016 on eligibility requirements to be satisfied to provide conformity assessment services;
Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 08/2018/ND-CP dated January 15, 2018 on amendments to Decrees on investment and business requirements under the authority of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;
Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP dated February 02, 2018 on elaboration of the Law on Food Safety;
At the request of the Director of the Department of Science and Technology;
The Minister of Industry and Trade promulgates a Circular stipulating food safety management by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Scope
This Circular introduces regulations on:
1. Issuance and revocation of the certificate of food safety issued to food manufacturers and food sellers.
2. State inspection of safety of imported foods.
3. Appointment of food testing laboratories serving the state management of foods, and reference testing laboratories.
4. Recall and disposal of disqualified foods.
Article 2. Regulated entities
This Circular applies to Vietnamese authorities, Vietnamese and foreign organizations and individuals that manufacture, sell or import foods in Vietnam; regulatory authorities; organizations and individuals whose operations involve food safety in Vietnam under the state management of food safety by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Article 3. Interpretation of terms
For the purpose of this Circular, the terms below are construed as follows:
1. “general food business establishment” means an establishment that trades in various types of foods which are under the management of at least 02 regulatory ministries (excluding wholesale markets and centers for auction of agricultural products).
2. “establishment owner” means the legal representative of a food establishment (as specified in the Investment Certificate or the Enterprise Registration Certificate) or the person hired and assigned to directly manage manufacturing and trading operations of a food establishment.
3. “food testing laboratory serving the state management” means an organization which has the legal status and is appointed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to perform test(s) and evaluate the conformity of foods, food additives, food processing aids, micronutrients, food containers, and primary packages of foods with relevant technical regulations and standards.
4. “reference testing laboratory” means a state-owned testing laboratory which is appointed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to perform food testing when having any disputes over testing results, and serve the settlement of disputes over food safety.
5. “state authority responsible for inspection of food safety of imported foods" means an authority or unit which meets relevant technical and capacity requirements to consider, evaluate and certify the conformity of food products with relevant regulations, or technical regulations or standards on foods safety as assigned or appointed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
6. “product recall” means the adoption of various measures for removing disqualified foods from the lines of food production, import, export and distribution on the market.
7. “chain of food trading establishments” means a group of food trading establishments which are under the ownership of an owner and located in 02 or more provinces or central-affiliated cities.
Chapter II
ISSUANCE AND REVOCATION OF THE CERTIFICATE OF FOOD SAFETY
Article 4. Application for issuance of the certificate of food safety
1. Application for a new certificate of food safety:
a) The application form made according to the Form No. 01a provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith;
b) The description of facilities, equipment and devices meeting food safety requirements made according to the Form No. 02a (for food manufacturers), Form No. 02b (for food sellers) or both the Form No. 02a and the Form No. 02b (for an establishment both manufacturing and selling foods) provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith;
c) The certificate of good health or the written certification of health, granted by the health facility of district level or higher, of the establishment owner and persons directly engaging in the production or trading of foods (the copy certified by the food establishment);
d) The certificate of completion of training course in food safety or the certificate of qualification in food safety of the establishment owner and persons directly engaging in the production or trading of foods (the copy certified by the food establishment).
2. Application for re-issuance of the certificate of food safety because of loss or damage:
The application form made according to the Form No. 01b provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith.
3. Application for re-issuance of the certificate of food safety because there are changes in production and/or business location, production process, food products or when the certificate of food safety expires:
a) The application form made according to the Form No. 01b provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith;
b) The documents specified in Point b, Point c and Point d Clause 1 of this Article.
4. Application for re-issuance of the certificate of food safety because there is a change of the food establishment’s name but the establishment owner, address, location, the production process and food products are kept unchanged:
a) The application form made according to the Form No. 01b provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith;
b) The certificate of food safety (the copy certified by the food establishment).
5. Application for re-issuance of the certificate of food safety because there is a change of the establishment owner but the establishment’s name, address, location, production process and food products are kept unchanged:
a) The application form made according to the Form No. 01b provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith;
b) The certificate of food safety (the copy certified by the food establishment);
c) The certificate of good health of the establishment owner issued by the health facility of district level or higher (the copy certified by the food establishment);
d) The certificate of completion of the training course in food safety or the certificate of qualification in food safety of the establishment owner (the copy certified by the food establishment).
Article 5. Procedures for issuance of the certificate of food safety
Regulatory authorities prescribed in Article 6 hereof shall receive and check the validity of applications, carry out site inspections and issue the certificate of food safety to qualified food establishments. Procedures for issuance of the certificate of food safety are as follows:
1. Issuance of a new certificate of food safety:
a) Receiving and check the validity of the application:
Within 05 business days from the receipt of the application for issuance of the certificate of food safety, the regulatory authority shall check and verify the validity of the received application. If the received application is invalid, the regulatory authority shall request the food establishment (the applicant) in writing to complete it. If the applicant fails to supplement the application within 30 days from the day on which the written request is made, the application will be invalidated.
b) Establishing an inspectorate:
Within 10 business days from the day on which the received application is checked and certified satisfactory, the regulatory authority shall organize a site inspection. If an inferior authority is authorized to carry out the site inspection, a written authorization is required. After completing the site inspection, the authorized authority must submit the inspection record to the authorizing authority to consider issuing the certificate of food safety.
The inspectorate responsible for carrying out the site inspection shall be established under the decision of the regulatory authority competent to issue the certificate of food safety or its authorized authority. An inspectorate is comprised of 03 – 05 members at least 02 of whom are specialized in foods or food safety (have academic qualifications in foods or food safety) or in food safety management (independent specialists who have appropriate professional qualifications may be hired to carry out the site inspection). Head of the inspectorate shall be responsible for the site inspection results.
c) Carrying out the site inspection:
Examine and verify the legality of the application for the certificate of food safety submitted to the regulatory authority by comparing the application documents with their originals kept by the applicant; inspect and evaluate the satisfaction of food safety requirements by the applicant.
d) Giving the site inspection result:
The inspection result which is “Passed”, “Partially passed” or “Failed” must be specified in the inspection record which is made according to the Form No. 03a if the applicant is a food manufacturer or the Form No. 03b if the applicant is a food seller or a combined form of the Form No. 03a and the Form No. 03b if the applicant is an establishment manufacturing and trading foods;
The certificate of food safety is issued to a general food business establishment when at least a group of food products is given "Passed” result. Groups of food products given “Passed” result shall be specified in the certificate of food safety issued to this establishment;
If "Failed” or “Partially passed” result is given, explanation shall be provided in the inspection record. If the “Partially passed” result is given, rectification must be completed within 60 days. After the rectification has been done at the request of the inspectorate, the applicant shall send a report made according to the Form No. 04 enclosed herewith and inspection fees to the regulatory authority so as to carry out the site inspection again in accordance with regulations laid down in Point c of this Clause. The re-inspection must be completed within a maximum period of 10 business days from the day on which the report on rectification results is submitted. If the applicant fails to submit the report on rectification within the period of 60 days, the submitted application for the certificate of food safety and the inspection record which includes “Partially passed” result shall be invalidated;
If the re-inspection result is “Failed” or the report on rectification is not sent by the prescribed rectification deadline, the regulatory authority shall request local regulatory authorities in writing to supervise the applicant and request the applicant not to operate until it obtains the certificate of food safety;
The site inspection record is made in 02 copies of the same validity 01 of which is kept by the inspectorate and the other is provided for the applicant.
dd) Issuing the certificate of food safety:
Within 05 business days from the date on which the “Passed” result is given, the regulatory authority shall issue the certificate of food safety made according to the Form No. 05a (for a food manufacturer), the Form No. 05b (for a food seller), or the Form No. 05c (for an establishing manufacturing and trading foods) provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith.
2. Re-issuance of the certificate of food safety because of loss or damage:
Within 03 business days from the receipt of the valid application, based on retained documents, the regulatory authority that has issued the certificate of food safety to the applicant shall consider re-issuing the certificate of food safety. If an application is refused, a written notice in which reasons for refusal are specified shall be given to the applicant.
3. Re-issuance of the certificate of food safety because there are changes in production and/or business location, production process, food products or when the certificate of food safety expires:
Procedures for re-issuing the certificate of food safety in this case shall be carried out in accordance with regulations in Clause 1 of this Article.
4. Re-issuance of the certificate of food safety because there is a change of the food establishment’s name but the establishment owner, the establishment’s address, location, the production process and food products are kept unchanged:
Within 03 business days from the receipt of the valid application, based on retained documents, the regulatory authority that has issued the certificate of food safety to the applicant shall consider re-issuing the certificate of food safety. If the application is refused, a written notice in which reasons for refusal are specified must be given.
5. Re-issuance of the certificate of food safety because there is a change of the establishment owner but the food establishment’s name, address, location, production process and food products are kept unchanged:
Within 03 business days from the receipt of the valid application, based on retained documents, the regulatory authority that has issued the certificate of food safety to the applicant shall consider re-issuing the certificate of food safety. If the application is refused, a written notice in which reasons for refusal are specified must be given.
6. If the number of food trading establishments of a chain of food trading establishments increases or decreases, procedures for modification of the certificate of food safety shall be carried out in accordance with regulations laid down in Clause 3 of this Article with respect to food trading establishments added to or removed from the chain.
7. The site inspection of establishments that manufacturing and sell food products as prescribed in Clause 8 and Clause 10 Article 36 of the Government’s Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP dated February 02, 2018 shall be carried out in accordance with relevant regulations on business lines and sectors.
Article 6. Power to issue the certificate of food safety
1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall have the power to issue the certificate of food safety to:
a) The establishment that produces:
- Alcohols: At least 03 million liters per year;
- Beer: At least 50 million liters per year;
- Soft drinks: At least 20 million liters per year;
- Processed milk: At least 20 million liters per year;
- Vegetable oil: At least 50 thousand tons per year;
- Confectionery: At least 20 thousand tons per year;
- Flour and starch: At least 100 thousand tons per year;
b) Chains of food trading establishments (except chains of mini-supermarkets and chains of convenience stores whose area is equivalent to that of a mini-supermarket as regulated by applicable laws); food wholesale establishments (including general food wholesale establishments), which operate in at least 02 provinces or central-affiliated cities.
c) An establishment that both manufacturers and sells food products at the same location and has an appropriate designed capacity as prescribed in Point a of this Clause.
d) Food trading establishments that are prescribed in Point b of this Clause and manufacture foods with a designed capacity smaller than the one prescribed in Point a of this Clause.
dd) Establishments that manufacture and sell various types of food products as prescribed in Clause 8 and Clause 10 Article 36 of the Government’s Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP dated February 02, 2018, and have a production capacity under the management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade as prescribed in Point a of this Clause.
2. Provincial Departments of Industry and Trade shall directly issue the certificate of food safety or request the Provincial People’s Committees to appoint or assign local competent authorities to issue the certificate of food safety to:
a) Food manufacturers whose designed capacity is less than the ones prescribed in Point a Clause 1 of this Article;
b) Food wholesalers and retailers (including general food wholesalers and retailers) which operate within the territory of 01 province or central-affiliated city; chains of mini-supermarkets and chains of convenience stores whose area is equivalent to that of a mini-supermarket as regulated by applicable laws;
c) An establishment that both manufacturers and sells food products at the same location and has an appropriate designed capacity as prescribed in Point a of this Clause;
d) Establishments that manufacture and sell various types of food products as prescribed in Clause 8 and Clause 10 Article 36 of the Government’s Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP dated February 02, 2018, and have a production capacity under the management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade as prescribed in Point a of this Clause.
3. Rules for issuance of the certificate of food safety:
a) The regulatory authority shall issue 01 certificate of food safety to the food manufacturing and trading establishment prescribed in Point c Clause 1 or Point c Clause 2 of this Article;
b) The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall issue 01 certificate of food safety to the food trading establishment prescribed in Point b Clause 1 of this Article. The local competent authority shall issue 01 certificate of food safety to the chain of mini-supermarkets or the chain of convenience stores whose area is equivalent to that of a mini-supermarket as regulated by applicable lawsoft as prescribed in Point b Clause 2 of this Article;
c) The food wholesale establishment that is prescribed in Point b Clause 1 of this Article and carries out retail operations, and the food trading establishment prescribed in Point d Clause 1 of this Article are entitled to decide regulatory authorities that shall process their applications for the certificate of food safety.
Article 7. Validity of the certificate of food safety
1. A certificate of food safety shall be valid up to 03 years. At least 06 months before the certificate of food safety expires, the certificate holder must submit the application for re-issuance of the certificate of food safety in accordance with regulations in Clause 1 Article 4 hereof if the certificate holder plans to continue food production and business operations.
2. The valid period of the certificate of food safety re-issued as regulated in Clause 2, Clause 4 or Clause 5 Article 4 hereof must correspond to the valid period of the old one.
3. The certificate of food safety re-issued as regulated in Clause 3 Article 4 hereof shall be valid for 03 years from the date of re-issue.
Article 8. Inspection after issuance of the certificate of food safety
1. Regulatory authorities that have the power to issue the certificate of food safety prescribed in Article 6 hereof and other competent authorities shall conduct inspections after the issuance of the certificate of food safety.
2. A regulatory authority is entitled to conduct inspection of the food establishment whose certificate of food safety is issued by its inferior authority.
3. The inspection after the issuance of the certificate of food safety shall be conducted once a year.
Article 9. Revocation of the certificate of food safety
1. The certificate of food safety shall be revoked in the following circumstances:
a) Documents included in the application for the certificate of food safety are forged;
b) The certificate of food safety is lent or rent;
c) Contents of the certificate of food safety are altered;
d) Production and business operations are permanently suspended.
2. Power to revoke the certificate of food safety:
a) The regulatory authority that issues the certificate of food safety shall have the power to revoke the issued certificate of food safety;
b) A regulatory authority is entitled to revoke certificates of food safety issued by its inferior authorities.
Chapter III
STATE AUTHORITIES RESPONSIBLE FOR INSPECTION OF FOOD SAFETY OF IMPORTED FOODS, FOOD TESTING LABORATORIES SERVING THE STATE MANAGEMENT, AND REFERENCE TESTING LABORATORIES
Article 10. State authorities responsible for inspection of food safety of imported foods
The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall consider appointing or assigning providers of conformity assessment services that operate in the territory of Vietnam and are certified to meet all capacity requirements to provide certification or inspection services in accordance with the Government’s Decree No. 107/2016/ND-CP dated July 01, 2016 to act as state authorities responsible for inspection of food safety of imported goods under the management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Article 11. Requirements to be satisfied by food testing laboratories serving the state management
Food testing laboratories serving the state management must satisfy relevant requirements in accordance with Clause 1 Article 25 of the Government’s Decree No. 77/2016/ND-CP dated July 01, 2016.
Article 12. Application and procedures for appointment of food testing laboratories serving the state management
Application documentation and procedures for appointment of food testing laboratories serving the state management shall comply with the Joint Circular No. 20/2013/TTLT-BYT-BCT-BNNPTNT dated August 01, 2013 by the Minister of Health, the Minister of Industry and Trade, and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Article 13. Requirements to be satisfied by reference testing laboratories
Reference testing laboratories must be state-owned testing laboratories and satisfy all requirements specified in Clause 2 Article 25 of the Government’s Decree No. 77/2016/ND-CP dated July 01, 2016.
Article 14. Application and procedures for appointment of reference testing laboratories
Application documentation and procedures for appointment of reference testing laboratories shall comply with regulations laid down in Chapter III of the Circular No. 40/2013/TT-BCT dated December 31, 2013 by the Minister of Industry and Trade.
Chapter IV
RECALL AND DISPOSAL OF DISQUALIFIED FOODS
Article 15. Power to recall food products
1. Disqualified food products must be voluntarily or mandatorily recalled and disposed in accordance with Article 55 of the Law on food safety.
2. Power to mandatorily recall foods:
a) Authorities receiving self-declaration documents or applications for registration of the product declaration as appointed by Provincial People's Committees;
b) Regulatory authorities that have the power to impose penalties for administrative violations shall have the right to enforce recall of food products in accordance with the Government's Decree No. 115/2018/ND-CP dated September 04, 2018.
Article 16. Procedures for voluntary recall
1. Within 24 hours after the discovery or receipt of feedback about safety issues of food products and it is concluded that the food products have to be recalled, the product owner shall:
a) Notify the recall by telephone, email or other appropriate forms, and then give written notification to all members of the production and distribution system (including factories, distributors, agencies and stores) in order to request them to suspend the production and distribution of products as well as carry out the recall of products;
b) Give written notification to provincial mass media agencies and other relevant authorities and organizations as regulated in the Law on protection of consumer rights; If the recall involves more than one province, central-level mass media agencies must be notified in writing in order to publish the recall-related information to consumers;
c) Give written notification of the recall to food safety authorities;
d) The written notification of the recall must include the following information: Name and address of the product owner and of the manufacturer, product’s name, packaging specifications, batch number, date of manufacture, expiration date, quantity, reasons for recall, list of locations receiving recalled products, and recall duration.
2. Within a maximum period of 03 days from the completion of the recall, the product owner must submit a report on the recall of products, which is made according to the Form No. 06a provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith, and must specify measures for disposal of recalled products, to food safety authorities.
Article 17. Procedures for mandatory recall
1. Within 24 hours after it is concluded that the food products are subject to the mandatory recall, the authority that has the power to issue a recall decision as regulated in Clause 2 Article 18 hereof shall issue a recall decision made according to the Form No. 06b provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith.
2. Upon the receipt of the recall decision, the product owner must carry out the procedures specified in Clause 1 Article 19 hereof.
3. Within 03 days from the completion of the recall, the product owner must submit a report on the recall of products, which is made according to the Form No. 06a provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith, and must specify measures for disposal of recalled products, to food safety authorities.
4. After issuing a recall decision, authorities competent to impose penalties for administrative violations against regulations on food safety must supervise the recall of products and notify food safety authorities and relevant authorities for cooperation.
Article 18. Procedures for recall in serious cases or an emergency
1. In case a product owner fails to carry out the recall or conducts the recall inconsistently with the mandatory recall decision issued by a competent authority or in another case of emergency as regulated in Point d Clause 5 Article 55 of the Law on food safety, the competent authority shall issue a decision to enforce and organize the recall. A decision on enforced recall of food products must specify the name of the authority or organization responsible for that enforcement, the name of the authority or organization supervising or witnessing the enforced recall of products, the time limit for completion of the enforced recall, and measures for disposal of recalled products.
2. Upon the completion of the recall and disposal of recalled products, the authority carrying out the recall and disposal of recalled products shall give a written notification requesting the product owner to pay expenses arising during the recall.
3. The product owner shall pay expenses for recall and disposal of recalled products (if any) within 15 days from the receipt of a written notification from the authority responsible for such recall.
Article 19. Measures for disposing of recalled products
1. Disqualified food products recalled shall be disposed of as follows:
a) Correction of label error: The product label is unconformable with the label description provided in the self-declaration documents or the application for registration of the product declaration;
b) Repurposing: Disqualified foods to be recalled may threaten the consumer health, are not conformable with foods purposes but may be used to serve other purposes;
C) Re-exporting: Imported food products have quality or safety indicators unconformable with the self-declaration documents of the application for registration of the product declaration or may threaten the consumer health;
d) Destruction: Food products have quality or safety indicators unconformable with the self-declaration documents of the application for registration of the product declaration, threaten the consumer health, and cannot be repurposed or re-exported as regulated in Point b or Point c Clause 1 of this Article and in other necessary cases as prescribed in Article 18 hereof.
2. If food products are recalled in accordance with provisions in Article 16 hereof, the product owner shall himself/herself select an appropriate measure for disposing of recalled products in accordance with regulations in Clause 1 hereof.
3. If food products are recalled in accordance with provisions in Article 17 hereof, within 03 business days from the receipt of the report on the recall of disqualified products, the competent authority issuing the recall decision must give a written approval for the measure for disposing of recalled products proposed by the product owner. If the competent authority disagrees with the measure for disposing of recalled products proposed by the product owner, it must give a written response indicating reasons thereof and another measure for disposing of recalled products to the product owner.
Article 20. Reports on disposing of recalled products
1. The product owner must complete the disposal of food products recalled according to a mandatory recall decision issued by a competent authority within 03 months from the receipt of the competent authority's written approval for the measure for disposing of recalled products proposed by the product owner.
2. Correction of label error:
a) Voluntary recall: Upon the completion of the correction of label error, the product owner must give a written notification which specifies the product’s name and quantity, and the sample of the product with correct label, to the food safety authority. After sending a written notification to the food safety authority as regulated, the product owner may continue distributing food products;
b) Mandatory recall: Upon the completion of the correction of label error, the product owner must give a written notification, which specifies the product’s name and quantity, and the sample of the food product with correct label, to the authority issuing the recall decision. Within 03 business days from the receipt of the notification from the product owner, the authority issuing the recall decision shall give a written approval for the distribution of food products; in case of disapproval, reasons for disapproval must be given in writing. Upon the receipt of the written approval for the distribution of food products whose label has been corrected as regulated from the authority issuing the recall decision, the product owner must notify the food safety authority in writing of such approval. The product owner shall continue distributing food products after obtaining an approval from the authority issuing the recall decision.
3. Repurposing:
Within 05 working days from the completion of the repurposing of recalled food products, the product owner must submit a report on the repurposing, which indicates the name and quantity of the product to be repurposed, repurposing duration, new purposes, and must be accompanied by the contract and invoices proving transactions between the product owner and the product buyer, to the food safety authority or the authority issuing the recall decision. The buyer may only use purchased food products for the purposes defined in the contract signed with the product owner after reporting the food safety authority.
4. Re-exporting:
Within 05 business days from the completion of the re-exporting of products, the product owner must submit a written report on the re-exporting, which must indicate the name and quantity of the product to be re-exported, the country of origin, re-exporting time, and be accompanied by re-exporting documents, to the food safety authority and the authority issuing the recall decision.
5. Destruction:
Within 05 business days from the completion of the destruction of recalled food products, the product owner must submit a written report on the destruction, which must indicate the name and quantity of the product to be destroyed, time and location of destruction, and be accompanied with the destruction record certified by the authority in charge of organizing the destruction, to the food safety authority or to the authority issuing the recall decision.
Chapter V
IMPLEMENTATION
Article 21. Transition clause
The certificates of food safety and the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s decisions on appointment of state authorities responsible for inspection of food safety of imported foods, food testing laboratories serving the state management, and reference testing laboratories issued or made before the effective date of this Circular are still valid until the expiration date of such certificates or decisions.
Article 22. Effect
1. This Circular comes into force from January 01, 2019.
2. The Circular No. 58/2014/TT-BCT dated December 22, 2014 by the Minister of Industry and Trade; Chapter II, Chapter IV and Chapter V of the Circular No. 40/2013/TT-BCT dated December 31, 2013 by the Minister of Industry and Trade; and the Circular No. 28/2013/TT-BCT dated November 06, 2013 by the Minister of Industry and Trade are abrogated.
Article 23. Implementation
1. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Industry and Trade:
a) The Department of Science and Technology shall:
Play the leading role and coordinate with relevant departments, and Provincial Departments of Industry and Trade in instructing the implementation of this Circular;
Receive and check the validity of applications, carry out site inspections, and request the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to consider issuing the certificates of food safety to the establishments that manufacturing and selling foods at the same location as prescribed in Point a, Point c and Point dd Clause 1 Article 6 hereof;
Receive and check the validity of applications, appraise received applications, and request the Minister of Industry and Trade to make decisions on designation or appointment of state authorities responsible for inspection of food safety of imported foods, food testing laboratories serving the state management, and reference testing laboratories in its managed sectors.
b) The Domestic Market Department shall:
Receive and check the validity of applications, carry out site inspections, and request the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to consider issuing the certificates of food safety to the food trading establishments prescribed in Point b and Point d Clause 1 Article 6 hereof.
2. Each Provincial Department of Industry and Trade shall:
a) Based on actual conditions of each province, receive and check the validity of applications, carry out site inspections, and consider issuing the certificates of food safety or request the Provincial People's Committee to assign or appoint local competent authorities to receive and check the validity of applications, carry out site inspections, and consider issuing the certificates of food safety to food manufacturers and sellers prescribed in Clause 2 Article 6 hereof;
b) Submit annual reports to the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the issuance of the certificate of food safety to food manufacturers and sellers prescribed in Clause 2 Article 6 hereof; the list of food establishments which are under the state management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and exempt from the certificate of food safety as regulated in Article 12 of the Government's Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP dated February 02, 2018; reports on recall of disqualified foods and disposing of recalled products according to mandatory recall decisions made by local competent authorities.
3. If legislative documents referred to in this Circular are superseded, supplemented or amended, the new ones shall apply.
4. Difficulties that arise during the implementation of this Circular should be reported to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for consideration./.
| MINISTER |
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