Circular No. 23/2011/TT-BNNPTNT Amending, supplementing, and abolishing certain provisions on administrative procedures in the field of aquatic product quality management pursuant to Resolution No. 57/NQ-CP dated October 15, 2010.

CIRCULAR

Amending, supplementing, and abolishing certain provisions on administrative procedures in the field of

aquatic product quality management pursuant to Resolution No. 57/NQ-CP dated October 15, 2010

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Pursuant to Decree No. 01/2008/NĐ-CP dated January 3, 2008, of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

Pursuant to Decree No. 75/2009/NĐ-CP dated September 10, 2009 of the Government amending Article 3 of Decree No. 01/2008/NĐ-CP dated January 3, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 57/NQ-CP dated December 15, 2010 of the Government on simplifying administrative procedures within the scope of management functions of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development amends, supplements, and abolishes certain provisions on administrative procedures in the field of aquatic product quality management pursuant to Resolution No. 57/NQ-CP dated October 15, 2010 as follows:

Article 1. Abolishing, amending, and supplementing certain articles of Decision No. 117/2008/QĐ-BNN dated December 11, 2008 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development promulgating the inspection and certification regime for aquatic product production and business establishments meeting food safety conditions (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 117).

1. Clause 4 of Article 14 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 14. Frequency of periodic inspections

4. An establishment requesting a postponement of periodic inspections must submit an application including the reasons for the request. Within five working days from the date of receipt of the application for postponement of periodic inspections, the Inspection and Certification Authority must issue a response letter specifying the control measures to be applied to the establishment based on the reasons for the postponement request, which may include:

a) Enhanced inspection of products leaving the establishment;

b) Suspension of inspection and certification of products entering the market;

c) Revocation of the certification of the establishment's compliance with food safety standards."

2. Abolishing Clause 3 of Article 15 and Appendices 3a and 3b of the inspection and certification regime for aquatic product production and business establishments meeting food safety standards issued together with Decision No. 117.

3. The model Certificate of Aquatic Product Production and Business Establishment Meeting Food Safety Standards according to Appendix 01 and 02 issued together with this Circular.

4. Point h and point i of Clause 1 of Article 17 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 17. Suspension of Effectiveness of Certification

1. The decision certifying an establishment as meeting food safety standards will be suspended in the following cases:

h) The establishment violates regulations on the control and use of prohibited chemicals and antibiotics;"

i) The establishment purchases or uses raw materials from banned or suspended harvesting areas of mollusks."

5. Clause 2 of Article 17 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 17. Suspension of Effectiveness of Certification

2. Within five working days from the date of receipt of the violation dossier of the establishments mentioned in Clause 1 of Article 17 of the inspection and certification regime for aquatic product production and business establishments meeting food safety standards issued together with Decision No. 117, the Inspection and Certification Authority shall issue a decision suspending the effectiveness of the certification of the establishment meeting food safety standards and temporarily suspend the use of the certification number issued. The suspension decision shall be sent to the establishment whose certification has been suspended, the Quality Inspection and Certification Authority, the Registration Authority of the establishment, and filed in the Inspection and Certification Authority's records."

6. Abolishing Article 18 of the inspection and certification regime for aquatic product production and business establishments meeting food safety standards issued together with Decision No. 117.

7. Point a of Clause 1 of Article 19 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 19. Reissuing Certificates

a) A certificate of compliance with food safety standards in aquatic product processing shall be reissued in the following cases: Loss of the certificate; Damage to the certificate; Changes or additions to information related to the name, address, or type of production of the establishment; The establishment has had its certificate revoked and now requests a reissue."

8. Clause 2 of Article 19 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 19. Reissuing Certificates

2. The reissuance of certificates shall be carried out as follows:

a) The establishment shall submit a request to the Inspection and Certification Authority for reissuance of the certificate according to the form at Appendix 03 issued together with this Circular.

b) Number of applications: One request for reissuance of the certificate.

c) The establishment may submit the application directly, via fax, email, electronic network (followed by submission of the original application), or through postal service.

d) Within three working days from the date of receipt of the request for reissuance of the certificate from the establishment, the Inspection and Certification Authority must reissue the certificate to the establishment."

Article 2. Amending and supplementing some articles of Decision No. 118/2008/QĐ-BNN dated December 11, 2008 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on regulations for inspection and certification of food safety quality of aquatic products (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 118).

1. Clause 3 of Article 11 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 11. Registration for Inspection

3. The consignor shall submit one set of registration dossier to the inspection authority through the following methods: direct submission, postal service, fax (with telephone confirmation), email, or online registration via the Internet, and then submit the registration dossier to the Inspection Authority when inspected."

2. Clause 1 of Article 19 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 19. Procedures and contents for exemption from inspection

1. The consignor shall prepare one document requesting exemption from inspection according to the model prescribed in Appendix 1b of the Inspection and Certification Regulations for Food Safety Quality of Aquatic Products issued together with Decision No. 118. Within seven working days from the date the batch of goods is recalled or returned due to reasons related to food safety (warned by the importing market about violations of food safety standards), the enterprise must report to the inspection authority on measures taken against the batch of goods according to Clause 3 of Article 14 of the Inspection and Certification Regulations for Food Safety Quality of Aquatic Products issued together with Decision No. 118/2008/QĐ-BNN dated December 11, 2008 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

3. Abolish point b and point d of Clause 1 of Article 20.

4. Clause 1 of Article 21 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 21. Implementation of reduced inspection for exported aquatic products

1. Procedure for considering application for reduced inspection

a) The enterprise shall submit one Application for Reduced Inspection according to the model at Appendix 04 issued together with this Circular to the Inspection Authority.

b) Within seven (seven) working days from the date of receipt of the enterprise's request, the inspection authority shall organize examination and evaluation of the dossier and send Notification of Eligibility for Reduced Inspection of Aquatic Product Food Safety Quality according to the model at Appendix 05 issued together with this Circular if the dossier evaluation results meet the requirements; or Notification of Ineligibility for Reduced Inspection of Aquatic Product Food Safety Quality according to the model at Appendix 06 issued together with this Circular if the dossier evaluation results do not meet the requirements to the entity."

5. Abolish point c of Clause 1 of Article 21.

6. Clause 2 of Article 21 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 21. Implementation of reduced inspection for exported aquatic products

2. Implementation of reduced inspection

a) The enterprise shall submit comprehensive analysis of all indicators as stipulated in the quality management program approved by laboratories designated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and retain full testing results;

b) The enterprise shall register for inspection and certification of food safety quality of the batch of aquatic products according to Article 11 of the Regulation issued together with Decision No. 118 at least five (five) working days before the expected issuance of the certificate. Attached to the registration dossier is a detailed list of information related to the issuance of the certificate;

c) After reviewing the enterprise's registration dossier, the Inspection Authority shall confirm on the Registration Form and return it to the enterprise, clearly stating whether the batch of goods will be subject to reduced inspection or regular inspection. The Inspection Authority shall only conduct sensory and external inspections for batches subject to reduced inspection and take samples for testing according to the frequency specified in Clause 1 of Article 12 of Circular No. 78/2009/TT-BNNPTNT dated December 10, 2009 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on inspection and sampling of batches of aquatic products. Conduct certification inspection for batches subject to regular inspection as stipulated in Chapter II of the Regulation issued together with Decision No. 118;

d) For batches subject to reduced inspection, within one (one) working day from the date of sensory and external inspection at the site and based on the self-inspection results of the enterprise, the Inspection Authority shall issue the Certificate according to the model prescribed by the importing market."

7. Abolish the procedures "Inspection and certification of food safety quality of aquatic products before entering domestic market," "Enhanced inspection of food safety quality of aquatic products before entering domestic market," and "Exemption from inspection and certification of food safety quality of aquatic products before entering domestic market," specifically as follows:

a) Abolish: Point a of Clause 1 of Article 4, Clause 1 of Article 5, Clause 1 of Article 6, Point c of Clause 1 of Article 10, Article 12, Clause 1 of Article 18; Clause 2 of Article 23; Point c of Clause 2 and Point c of Clause 3 of Article 24 and Article 30.

b) Point a of Clause 1 of Article 15 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 15. Issuance of Certificates

1. From the end of on-site inspection, the inspection authority shall issue the Certificate for batches of goods that meet the inspection requirements within the following time limit:

a) Not exceeding one (one) working day for fresh or live aquatic products for export."

8. Point a and b of Clause 2 of Article 24 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 24. Contents and procedures for enhanced inspection

2. Inspection contents: In addition to the regular inspection contents as prescribed, aquatic products subject to enhanced inspection shall be additionally inspected for the following contents:

a) For exported aquatic products, they shall be implemented according to Clause 5 of Article 12 of Circular No. 78/2009/TT-BNNPTNT dated December 10, 2009 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on inspection and sampling of batches of aquatic products."

b) For imported aquatic products for processing: Additional analysis shall be designated for indicators with warning information or sampling for testing shall be conducted for five consecutive batches of the same type of product from the same origin to analyze the quality and food safety indicators that have been found to be non-compliant. In cases where the consignee has previously had five batches of the same type of product from the same origin with satisfactory test results regarding quality and food safety, the inspection agency shall conduct sampling and testing at a frequency of one out of every five subsequent batches of imported goods from the consignee.

Article 3. Amend and supplement Clause 3 of Article 7 of Decision No. 131/2008/QĐ-BNN dated December 31, 2008 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on the regulation for hygiene and safety control during harvesting of bivalve molluscs as follows:

Article 7. Implementation of the Program

3. Organizing Harvest Control:

a) The harvesting facility must notify the time, location, and quantity of bivalve molluscs expected to be harvested to the harvest control agency.

b) Based on the notification of harvesting conditions and post-harvest treatment, the harvest control agency or authorized organization must organize on-site supervision of harvesting and issue a harvest monitoring certificate/export certificate for each batch of raw materials within one working day from the date of receipt of the notification from the facility.

c) In case of issuance of a harvest monitoring certificate, within three working days from the date of harvesting, the harvesting facility must submit the original harvest monitoring certificate to the harvest control agency to obtain an official export certificate. The harvest control agency must issue the export certificate within one working day from the date of receipt of the harvest monitoring certificate from the facility.

d) Organize measures to prevent the harvesting of bivalve molluscs from prohibited or suspended areas and the transportation of bivalve molluscs from uncontrolled areas to controlled areas.

Article 4. Repeal, amend, and supplement some articles of Circular No. 56/2009/TT-BNNPTNT dated September 7, 2009 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on inspection and supervision of aquatic product hygiene and safety before entering the market as follows:

1. Point b of Clause 1 of Article 5 is amended and supplemented as follows:

Article 5. Conditions for Aquatic Products to Enter the Market

Aquatic products used as food for domestic consumption

b) For processed aquatic products, they must meet one of the following conditions: produced and traded at processing, manufacturing, storage, and preservation facilities recognized as meeting hygiene and safety standards; or confirmed to comply with regulations.

2. Repeal Clause 3 of Article 10.

Article 5. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect 45 days from the date of issuance.

2. The Director of the Quality Management Department of Agricultural and Forestry Products and Aquatic Products, the Head of the Ministry's Office, the Head of the Legal Affairs Department, the Heads of units under the Ministry, and related organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular./