Circular No. 44/2018/TT-BNNPTNT on State Inspection for Food Safety of Exported Plant-Origin Foods

CIRCULAR

STATE INSPECTION FOR FOOD SAFETY OF VEGETABLE-BASED EXPORTED FOODS
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Based on Decree No. 15/2017/ND-CP dated February 17, 2017 of the Government stipulating functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; 5/2018/ND-CP dated February 2, 2018 of the Government detailing implementation of certain provisions of the Food Safety Law;

Pursuant to the Food Safety Law dated June 17, 2010;

Based on Decree No. 1The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development issues this Circular on state inspection for food safety of vegetable-based exported foods.This Circular stipulates the implementation of state inspection for food safety (hereinafter referred to as inspection) of vegetable-based exported foods under the management domain of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development when requested by importing countries.This Circular applies to agencies, organizations, and individuals involved in state inspection for food safety of vegetable-based exported foods when requested by importing countries.

At the proposal of the Director of the Plant Protection Department;

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS ON INSPECTION OF VEGETABLE-BASED EXPORTED FOODS Article 3. Competence for state inspection for food safety of vegetable-based exported foodsThe Plant Quarantine Regional Office and the Plant Quarantine Station at border gates are the state inspection agencies for food safety of vegetable-based exported foods (hereinafter referred to as Inspection Agencies).

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

Article 4. Documents, procedures, and formalities for inspection of vegetable-based exported foods

Article 2. Applicability

1. Components of the dossier

Chapter II
a) Application for inspection of vegetable-based exported foods in accordance with Appendix I attached hereto;

b) Certified copy or copy (presenting original for verification) and only submitted upon first-time application for inspection one of the following documents:

Certificate of Food Safety Conditions for food production and business establishments subject to issuance of the Food Safety Conditions Certificate;

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), Food Safety Management System (ISO 22000), International Food Standard (IFS), Global Food Safety Standard (BRC), Food Safety System Certification (FSSC 22000) or equivalent for establishments not subject to issuance of the Food Safety Conditions Certificate as stipulated in point k, Clause 1, Article 12 of Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP dated February 2, 2018 of the Government detailing implementation of certain provisions of the Food Safety Law (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP);

Commitment to produce safe food in accordance with Appendix I attached to Circular No. 17/2018/TT-BNNPTNT dated October 31, 2018 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development stipulating management methods to ensure food safety conditions for agricultural, forestry, and aquatic product production and business establishments not subject to issuance of the Food Safety Conditions Certificate under the management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as stipulated in points a, b, c, d, đ Clause 1, Article 12 of Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP;

c) Copy of Product Registration Acceptance Certificate for products stipulated in Article 6 of Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP in consignments containing multiple items under the jurisdiction of two ministries or more as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 23 of Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP.

2. Procedure for implementing inspection formalities for vegetable-based exported foods

a) Organizations and individuals submit one set of dossier as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article to the Inspection Agency as stipulated in Article 3 of this Circular.

b) Submission of the dossier and receipt of results can be done directly, through postal services, or online via the Public Service Portal.

c) Within one working day from receipt of the dossier, the Inspection Agency shall examine: if the dossier is compliant with regulations, it will accept and process; if the dossier is non-compliant, it will notify the organization or individual specifying the required supplementary information to complete the dossier in accordance with regulations.

Within two working days from receipt of a compliant dossier, the Inspection Agency must inspect the consignment dossier and issue a Notification of Inspection Results of Vegetable-Based Exported Foods in accordance with Appendix II attached hereto or as requested by the importing country.

2. PROCEDURE FOR IMPLEMENTING THE INSPECTION PROCEDURES FOR EXPORTED VEGETABLE-DERIVED FOODSTUFFS

a) An organization or individual submits one set of documents as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article to the Inspection Authority as stipulated in Article 3 of this Circular.

b) The submission of documents and receipt of results may be conducted directly, through postal services, or online via the Public Service Portal.

c) Within one working day from the date of receiving the documents, the Inspection Authority shall examine: if the documents comply with the regulations, they will be accepted for processing; if the documents do not comply, the organization or individual concerned will be notified specifying the contents that need to be supplemented and completing the documents in accordance with the regulations.

Within two working days from the date of receiving complete and valid documents, the Inspection Authority must inspect the shipment documents and issue the Notification of Inspection Results for Vegetable-Derived Foodstuffs for Export as prescribed in Appendix II attached to this Circular or as requested by the importing country.

Article 5. Plant-based food exported must be re-imported if it does not meet the importing country's food safety requirements.

1. Re-imported food inspection shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 of Decree No. 15/2018/NĐ-CP.

2. Non-compliant re-imported food shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of Article 20 of Decree No. 15/2018/NĐ-CP.

3. Organizations and individuals exporting plant-based food that do not meet the importing country's food safety requirements must implement traceability in accordance with Circular No. 74/2011/TT-BNNPTNT dated October 31, 2011, issued by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on traceability, recall, and handling of unsafe agricultural and forestry products.

Article 6. Responsibilities of organizations and individuals registering for inspection; Inspection authority and Plant Protection Department

1. Responsibilities of organizations and individuals registering for inspection

a) Provide complete and truthful information and related documents;

b) Retain records and documents related to the origin and source of the product at the place of production and supply;

c) Implement traceability when requested by competent authorities.

2. Responsibilities of the Inspection Authority

a) Accept and inspect registration documents, notify the results of the inspection to organizations and individuals registering for inspection within the prescribed time;

b) Update information and documents provided by organizations and individuals;

c) Retain and be responsible for the results of the inspection.

3. Responsibilities of the Plant Protection Department

a) Organize the implementation of this Circular;

b) Direct the Inspection Authority to fulfill the responsibilities stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article;

c) Summarize and report the results of implementing this Circular to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Chapter III
IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 7. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from February 22, 2019.

2. During the implementation of this Circular, if there are difficulties or obstacles, organizations and individuals are requested to promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Plant Protection Department) for consideration and resolution./.