Directive No. 331/TTg on the management of quality for alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, and other beverages

DIRECTIVE

OF THE PRIME MINISTER

On the management of the quality of alcoholic beverages, soft drinks

In recent times, the production and circulation of alcoholic beverages, soft drinks (hereinafter referred to collectively as beverages) have developed strongly, with diverse and abundant products that meet most consumer needs. Alongside this, there are still many low-quality products that do not ensure hygiene circulating on the market; the phenomenon of producing and circulating counterfeit goods continues to develop, seriously affecting consumers' health and social security.

To prevent the above situation, the Prime Minister requests ministries, sectors, and localities to implement the following measures:

1. Business registration agencies consider product quality and hygiene in the production and circulation of beverages as important conditions for business registration consideration; they must regularly inspect businesses and individuals (hereinafter referred to collectively as establishments) engaged in beverage sales; depending on the level of violation, temporarily suspend business operations or revoke business registration for establishments violating quality and food hygiene regulations according to the law.

2. The Ministry of Light Industry is responsible for directing and reviewing existing industry standards for beverages, and issuing new standards when necessary; guiding establishments to implement Vietnamese Standards, hygiene regulations (issued by the Ministry of Health), business registration, quality registration, hygiene certification, and establishing their own standards for their products; strengthening inspections and audits of subordinate units and coordinating with other regulatory agencies in inspections and audits regarding business registration, quality, and hygiene.

3. The Market Management Steering Committees at all levels shall take the lead in inspecting and handling counterfeit goods according to Decree 140/HĐBT dated April 25, 1991 on inspection and handling of the production and sale of counterfeit goods; state management agencies shall strengthen inspections of compliance with trading regulations for beverages in the market, and strictly handle violations in trading.

4. The Ministry of Health shall issue regulations on food hygiene for beverages, including microbial indicators causing disease, permitted additives, and harmful substance levels (heavy metals, pesticide residues...); carry out the issuance of food hygiene condition certificates (hereinafter referred to as hygiene certificates) for establishments producing and circulating beverage products: strengthen the regular hygiene inspection system, inspect compliance with laws on hygiene in production, circulation, and use of beverages (including facility hygiene, personal hygiene of those involved in production and circulation, and hygiene indicators of raw materials and by-products), preventing the emergence and spread of large-scale epidemics.

Health inspection agencies for hygiene need to closely coordinate with relevant agencies during the inspection and handling of violations.

5. The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment shall review, amend, and supplement existing Vietnamese Standards on beverages; only grant quality registration to establishments meeting the conditions for producing high-quality beverages with food hygiene certificates and business registration; rectify the national inspection system on measurement standards - quality from central to local levels to prevent the production and circulation of low-quality beverage products.

Beverage business establishments must be subject to inspections and audits by state agencies managing business - market quality and hygiene, and are responsible for:

For direct production establishments:

Must register business, quality registration, and obtain food hygiene certificates in accordance with state regulations, ensuring the quality of their products before consumers and the law as committed in quality registration; regularly inspect the quality of their products;

Apply measures to prevent counterfeiting of their products (full labeling, registering protection of product trademarks and designs, continuously improving quality, using necessary technical measures...); proactively detect counterfeit goods, while cooperating and creating conditions for state agencies to inspect and handle the production and circulation of counterfeit goods in the market.

For commercial business establishments:

Only allowed to trade in beverages with clear origins, registered business, quality registration, and food hygiene certificates;

Must be responsible to customers and the law for the quality of beverages traded.

7. The Minister of Science, Technology, and Environment, the Minister of Health, shall be responsible for monitoring and urging the implementation of this Directive./.