Resolution No. 34/2009/NQ-QH12 on intensifying the implementation of policies and laws regarding quality management and food safety

RESOLUTION

ENFORCEMENT OF POLICIES AND LAWS ON QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND FOOD SAFETY

_____________________________

OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM

BASED ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM IN 1992 AS AMENDED AND COMPLEMENTED BY RESOLUTION NO. 51/2001/QH10;
Pursuant to the Law on the Supervisory Activities of the National Assembly;
After considering Report No. 225/BC-UBTVQH12 dated May 18, 2009 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on the results of supervision, Report No. 45/BC-CP dated April 7, 2009 of the Government on the implementation of policies and laws on quality management and food safety, and the opinions of National Assembly deputies, and Report No. 251/BC-UBTVQH12 dated June 18, 2009 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on the adoption and explanation of the report;

RESOLUTION:

Article 1. Agree with the content of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly's report on the supervision of the implementation of policies and laws on quality management and food safety. Concur with the assessment that efforts to manage and ensure food quality and safety have shown significant positive changes but still fail to meet requirements and remain a matter of particular concern to the whole society.

Article 2. To enhance the enforcement of policies and laws on quality management and food safety, the Government is tasked with implementing the following tasks:

1. Promptly submit to the National Assembly for consideration and promulgation of the Food Safety Law; amend, supplement, and promulgate regulatory documents within its authority to comprehensively, consistently, and uniformly regulate issues related to quality management and food safety.

2. Develop a national strategy to ensure food quality and safety from 2011 to 2020 and identify food quality and safety assurance as a national target program. Implement necessary and strong measures and plans to resolve existing issues in food quality and safety management such as issuing certificates for food production and business establishments meeting hygiene and safety conditions; planning centralized slaughterhouses and wholesale food markets; controlling microbial contamination and chemical residues in food, food poisoning, and foodborne diseases; strictly managing high-risk foods, functional foods, and imported foods, especially informal cross-border trade imports.

3. Strengthen the organizational structure of state agencies responsible for food quality and safety management from central to county levels. Appropriately apply the form of volunteer collaboration in food quality and safety management at commune level. Consolidate and strengthen all aspects to improve the capacity and effectiveness of advisory and assisting agencies under the Ministry of Health in food safety, while reforming their operational methods to effectively assist the Ministry of Health in performing its leading role in national food quality and safety management.

4. Enhance guidance, coordination, and clearly define responsibilities for state management of food quality and safety throughout the stages of raw material production, processing, export, import, and supply; for food types where distinctions between stages in the food chain are not clear, specific responsibilities must be defined among relevant ministries. Delegate more authority to local governments; combine central, local, and social resources to better meet national food quality and safety management requirements.

5. Strengthen the inspection system to ensure specialized inspection functions for food quality and safety. Increase inspections, handle violations of food quality and safety laws strictly and promptly.

6. In the annual state budget, allocate sufficient funds to implement food quality and safety management tasks, ensuring an annual increase in line with state budget revenue growth; particularly focusing on increasing funding for food quality and safety management at local levels, especially at commune level. From 2010, increase investment in the national target program on food quality and safety assurance.

7. Increase investment in activities: developing national standards and technical regulations; training staff, especially specialists in food quality and safety; building and upgrading some existing laboratories to regional and international standards; laboratory testing services for state inspections on food quality and safety; scientific research and technology development to monitor and warn about food contamination risks and foodborne diseases, safe food production and processing.

8. Implement policies to develop concentrated agricultural, forestry, and aquatic product production areas, encourage farmsteads that are disease-safe, food-safe, environmentally friendly, and linked to the development of safe agricultural product markets; provide preferential policies for food production and business establishments investing in technological upgrades, expanding production scale, adopting advanced quality management systems, and developing safe food supply chains.

9. Continuously carry out publicity and mobilization activities to implement policies and laws on food quality and safety management through diverse and appropriate forms for each locality; raise consumer awareness, business ethics, and producers' and traders' responsibility towards public health. Increase publication of information on food quality and safety; strictly manage food information and advertising activities; severely punish organizations and individuals providing false information and advertisements.

10. Promote socialization of technical service activities serving quality management and food hygiene and safety work; leverage the role of businesses, social organizations, and occupational associations in ensuring quality and food hygiene and safety; mobilize all social resources to diversify training formats and expand the scale of training for personnel managing quality and food hygiene and safety.

11. Strengthen international cooperation in the field of quality and food hygiene and safety; conclude bilateral and multilateral agreements recognizing and reciprocally acknowledging conformity assessment results with product quality standards and technical regulations, creating favorable conditions for exporting and importing safe food.

Article 3. The Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the Committee for Science, Technology and Environment, the Ethnic Council, other Committees of the National Assembly, Delegations of National Assembly Members, National Assembly deputies, People's Councils at all levels shall supervise the implementation of this Resolution within their respective duties and authorities.

This Resolution was adopted by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the twelfth session, fifth meeting on June 19, 2009./.