Directive No. 08/1999/CT-TTg On Strengthening Work to Ensure Food Quality and Safety

DIRECTIVE

Strengthening Work to Ensure Quality and Food Safety

Ensuring food quality and safety has a direct and continuous impact on each individual's health, and it affects the nation's gene pool over the long term. Consuming food that does not meet quality standards and hygiene requirements, or food with excessive levels of pesticide residues beyond permissible limits, may cause acute poisoning and digestive diseases in the short term, and more seriously, it can endanger lives. In the long run, toxins can accumulate in the body, leading to serious illnesses or congenital defects in future generations.

In recent years, ministries, sectors, and localities have not effectively coordinated their efforts, failing to adequately perform state management functions regarding food quality and safety for food production facilities, trade, and catering services. This is the main cause of losses not only in terms of lives, health, and economy for individuals or families but also in terms of labor productivity across society, negatively impacting product and service reputation, reducing the consumption of domestically produced processed foods.

Protecting the gene pool and long-term health of the people in the community is a common cause and responsibility of all citizens, particularly of local authorities at all levels. To address the lax management of food quality and safety, restore order and discipline in the food production and catering service sectors, the Prime Minister issues the following directive:

I. ANNUALLY FROM 1999, ORGANIZE THE "MONTH OF ACTION FOR FOOD QUALITY AND SAFETY" TO ENLIST THE FULL PARTICIPATION OF THE PUBLIC, LOCAL AUTHORITIES AT ALL LEVELS, MINISTRIES, AND AGENCIES IN PROACTIVELY PREVENTING AND COMBATING FOOD POISONING AND DISEASES CAUSED BY CONSUMPTION, AND RESTORING ORDER AND DISCIPLINE IN THE FOOD PRODUCTION AND CATERING SERVICE SECTORS. THE TIME FOR THE "MONTH OF ACTION FOR FOOD QUALITY AND SAFETY" SHALL BE PROPOSED BY THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AFTER CONSIDERING FACTORS SUCH AS DISEASE FORECASTS OR ISSUES RELATED TO THE OCCURRENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF DISEASES AND FOOD POISONING.

II. THE CHAIRS OF THE PEOPLE'S COMMITTEES OF PROVINCES AND CENTRALLY-GOVERNED CITIES SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REGULARLY IMPLEMENTING THE FOLLOWING TASKS

1. Organize the dissemination and popularization of legal regulations concerning food quality and safety to every food production facility and individual engaged in food trade and catering services within their jurisdiction. Mobilize mass media and appropriate forms of publicity to educate and guide the public about food hygiene, food preparation hygiene, methods to prevent food poisoning and diseases caused by consumption.

2. Direct the Health Department to lead and coordinate with relevant departments to inspect and check the conditions ensuring food quality and safety of food production facilities, trade, and catering services; strictly handle violations of laws related to food quality and safety.

3. Socialize activities aimed at food quality and safety. By various means, mobilize the forces of state agencies, economic and social organizations, and mass organizations to participate in food quality and safety activities in their locality, while creating conditions for consumers to protect themselves and participate with health authorities in promptly identifying and combating violations of food quality and safety by organizations and individuals involved in food production, trade, and catering services.

III. RESPONSIBILITIES OF MINISTRIES AND SECTORS

1. The Ministry of Health shall be responsible for:

a) Serve as the coordinating body with other ministries, political organizations, and social organizations in directing the implementation and maintaining the results of the "Month of Action for Food Quality and Safety." Guide the development of action plans, organize inspections and educational campaigns on food quality and safety. Lead the summary, evaluation, and reporting of results to the Prime Minister.

b) Direct the Food Quality and Safety Management Agency to coordinate with relevant quality control agencies of other ministries and sectors to implement specialized inspections and audits on food quality and safety according to legal provisions.

c) Lead the coordination with relevant ministries and agencies to develop annual and five-year action plans for food quality and safety assurance. The annual plan and budget for this activity will be included in the Ministry of Health's regular annual tasks. In the immediate term, focus on the following actions:

+ Coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training and mass media agencies to organize education and publicity on food hygiene in schools, on television, radio, and newspapers.

+ Coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Environment, and relevant ministries and sectors to draft regulatory documents for food quality and safety management.

+ Coordinate with the Government's Organization and Cadre Affairs Office and relevant ministries and sectors to urgently complete the project on national management of food quality and safety at the Ministry of Health, relevant ministries and sectors, and localities, to be submitted to the Prime Minister.

2. The Ministry of Culture and Information shall direct mass communication agencies to allocate appropriate time slots on mass media to disseminate and educate the public on laws and knowledge related to food quality and safety.

3. The Ministry of Public Security shall direct public security forces at all levels to regularly cooperate with the health sector and other functional sectors in inspecting and strictly handling business owners and catering service providers who violate Decree No. 36/CP dated May 29, 1995 on "Ensuring Urban Traffic Order and Safety" in occupying sidewalks and roads for food sales; coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to investigate and handle cases of producing fake food causing serious consequences.

4. The Ministry of Trade directs market management agencies to proactively coordinate with the health sector to inspect and handle the sale and circulation of fake foods, foods that do not meet food safety standards, and foods that fail to comply with packaging and labeling regulations.

5. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Fisheries shall cooperate with the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Environment to widely disseminate requirements and procedures for using plant protection chemicals, specialized drugs, and chemical fertilizers to users to ensure consumer health safety.

6. The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Environment, in collaboration with relevant ministries, shall urgently develop and promulgate regulations and procedures for controlling environmental pollution in food production areas, agricultural product areas, and fisheries; identify unsafe food production and grain production areas due to excessive environmental pollution beyond permissible limits, and propose remedial measures for these areas.

7. Ministries with their own health systems shall direct subordinate healthcare facilities to closely coordinate with local health authorities in inspecting and supervising eating establishments within their units, while participating in and implementing the "Month of Action for Food Quality and Safety."

8. Ministries overseeing food production and processing facilities shall direct these facilities to strictly adhere to regulations concerning food quality and safety.

9. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for ensuring funding from the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Health for activities related to food quality and safety at central and local levels, particularly funds for upgrading inspection and testing equipment for food quality and safety at central and local levels.

Coordinate with the Ministry of Health to establish and issue regulations on fees and charges for registration, certification, and technical appraisal activities related to food quality and safety.

10. Based on this Directive and the Ministry of Health's plan for ensuring food quality and safety, ministries, sectors, and local authorities at all levels shall develop plans and budgets for food quality and safety activities in accordance with current state regulations.

Ministers of ministries, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees under the Central Government have the responsibility to coordinate with Party agencies, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Vietnam Women's Union, the Central Communist Youth Union Ho Chi Minh, and social organizations and mass organizations to organize and implement the campaign "Month of Action for Food Quality and Safety."