Circular No. 47/2010/TT-BCT stipulates the inspection of product quality and food safety for food products under the management responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Trade during the production process.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on quality control and food safety inspection for food products during production under the management responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Trade

during the production process under the management responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Trade

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Pursuant to Decree No. 189/2007/ND-CP dated December 27, 2007, issued by the Government, detailing the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Based on the Law on Product Quality and Decree No. 132/2008/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2008 of the Government detailing implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Product Quality

Based on the Ordinance on Food Safety and Decree No. 163/2004/NĐ-CP dated September 7, 2004 of the Government detailing implementation of certain provisions of the Ordinance on Food Safety

Based on Decree No. 79/2008/NĐ-CP dated July 18, 2008 of the Government stipulating the organizational system for management, inspection, and testing related to food safety

Pursuant to Decree No. 40/2008/ND-CP dated April 7, 2008 of the Government on the production and trading of alcohol;

The Ministry of Industry and Trade stipulates the regulations on quality and food safety inspection for food products during production under the State management responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Trade before they are put on the market as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular stipulates the regulations on quality and food safety inspection (Quality Control, Food Safety) for food products under the State management responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Trade before they are put on the market including:

a) Beer, Wine, Soft Drinks

b) Processed Milk Products

c) Vegetable Oil Products

d) Processed Flour and Starch Products

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to:

1. Organizations and individuals producing and processing food products as specified in Article 1 of this Circular must register their business operations in Vietnam before putting them on the market.

2. Food Quality and Safety Inspection Agencies

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Circular, some terms are understood as follows:

1. A food production and processing facility (hereinafter referred to as a production facility) is a place where one or more activities take place to fundamentally alter the natural structure of raw materials, packaging, and storage for marketing purposes. Product quality

2. is the degree of product characteristics that meet the requirements set out in published standards and corresponding technical regulations. Food Safety

3. (Food Safety) refers to the necessary conditions and measures to ensure that food does not harm human health or life. Inspection

4. is the evaluation of the extent to which food production facilities comply with national standards, technical regulations, and technical provisions on quality control and food safety according to current regulations. involves conducting one or more testing activities to assess compliance with corresponding standards or technical regulations for food, food additives, food processing aids, food supplements, packaging, and food containers.

5. Food testing Putting on the Market

6. means self-consumption by the production facility or giving, selling, presenting, or exchanging with other organizations or individuals. Quality control and food safety inspections must adhere to the following principles:

Article 4. Principles of Inspection

1. Based on risk assessment for each type of food production facility.

2. Clear and transparent; ensuring accurate targeting, effectiveness without affecting the production activities of inspected facilities.

3. Honest and impartial; members of the inspection team must have no direct or indirect economic interests with the inspected facility.

1. Funding for implementing quality control and food safety inspections for food production facilities before they are put on the market shall be included in the regular budget provided by the state budget according to current regulations.

Article 5. Funding Implementation

2. Agencies assigned responsibilities must develop annual plans and budgets for implementation, submitting them for approval by competent authorities.

INSPECTION ACTIVITIES IN PRODUCTION

Chapter II

ACTIVITY OF INSPECTION IN PRODUCTION

Article 6. Basis for inspection

The basis for inspection includes:

a) Relevant technical standards and regulations, announced standards, and documents stipulating food safety and hygiene assurance issued by competent state management agencies;

b) Quality control bases during production as prescribed in Decree No. 132/2008/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2008 of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Law on Product and Goods Quality.

Article 7. Content of Inspections

Contents to be inspected include:

1. Business registration consistent with the business sector;

2. Certificate of establishment meeting food safety and hygiene conditions;

3. Training certificates on food safety knowledge for the establishment's owner and those directly involved in food production;

4. Health examination certificates for workers as prescribed by law;

5. Water testing reports for production and daily use conducted periodically;

6. Decisions and announcements regarding product standards;

7. General hygiene conditions for food production establishments as prescribed by law;

8. Provisions within relevant technical standards and standards published by organizations or individuals producing food;

9. Implementation of quality and food safety technical standards and regulations and other documents stipulating quality and food safety issued by competent state management agencies;

10. Testing results of samples conforming to announced standards and relevant technical standards already performed at food testing facilities designated by state management agencies;

11. Labeling contents according to labeling regulations for goods and other legal documents concerning food labeling;

12. Sampling for testing verification for products not meeting quality and food safety requirements as specified in Appendix III of this Circular;

13. Conditions ensuring quality and food safety throughout the entire food production process and product technical specifications;

14. Documentation retaining certificates of origin and other materials about the entire food production process;

15. Implementation of quality and food safety management for establishments applying quality management systems according to ISO 9001 and HACCP, ISO 22000 standards;

16. Inspection and supervision report of the most recent inspection;

17. Inspection of the Production License for alcohol for establishments producing alcohol.

Article 8. Establishing an inspection plan

1. Regular inspection plan

a) Based on actual circumstances and the need for quality and food safety inspections for each establishment, the inspection agency must develop an inspection plan for quality and food safety and budget for its implementation before November 1st each year; The inspection plan must clearly specify the products produced by the establishment and the inspection contents;

b) The inspection agency must notify the production establishment of the inspection plan at least 15 days prior to the inspection date.

2. Surprise Inspection

The inspection agency shall conduct surprise inspections in the following cases:

a) When there is a violation of quality and food safety regulations;

b) When there is a warning from organizations regarding quality and food safety;

c) As required by state management of quality and food safety.

Chapter III

RESPONSIBILITIES AND LIMITS OF THE INSPECTION AGENCY AND FOOD PRODUCTION ESTABLISHMENTS

Article 9. Inspection Agency

1. The Light Industry Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall take the lead in coordinating with functional units under the Ministry to be responsible for inspecting food production establishments listed in Appendix I of this Circular.

2. Provincial Departments of Industry and Trade shall inspect food production establishments within their province that are not included in the list in Appendix I of this Circular and those food production establishments mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article upon request of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Article 10. Responsibilities and Authorities of the Inspection Agency

1. Develop annual inspection plans for product quality and food safety to be submitted to the competent authority for approval.

2. Compile and report inspection results to the People's Committee of the province and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

3. Require production facilities to present relevant documents and provide copies thereof when necessary, and handle violations during inspections according to Article 30 of the Product Quality Law.

4. Take samples for testing when necessary.

5. Notify production facilities of inspection results; recommend the competent state authorities to handle violations according to the law; publicize the list of violating production facilities on mass media in cases where they fail to comply with the requirements set forth in the notification.

6. Protect confidential information, documents, and inspection results related to inspected food production facilities until accurate conclusions are made.

7. Bear responsibility under the law for inspection results and related conclusions.

Article 11. Responsibilities and Authorities of Food Production Facilities

1. Provide documents related to products subject to inspection as stipulated in Article 7 of this Circular.

2. Comply with inspection activities ensuring product quality and food safety conducted by the inspection agency and handle violations according to the competent authority.

3. Report to the direct management agency when produced products do not meet quality and food safety standards regarding the content and plan to rectify non-compliant products.

4. Maintain conditions ensuring product quality and food safety as prescribed. Rectify and repair defects noted in the inspection record and report back to the inspection agency.

5. Propose and lodge complaints about inspection team conclusions according to the law.

6. Be entitled to compensation for damages according to the law.

Article 12. Handling Violations

During the inspection process, if production facilities do not adhere to production procedures, technical standards and regulations on product quality and food safety, announced standards, and other food safety-related documents issued by the competent state management agencies, the inspection team will prepare a record according to Appendix II of this Circular and notify the inspection results to the production facility.

For products that do not meet the required standards for product quality and food safety, the inspection team will prepare a record requiring the production facility to correct the deficiencies of the product to ensure its quality before releasing it to the market; require the production facility to recall products that do not meet quality and food safety standards from circulation on the market.

In cases where there is sufficient evidence showing that the produced products do not meet quality and food safety standards but the production facility fails to comply with the requirements in the inspection team's notification or repeatedly commits offenses, the inspection team will recommend the competent authorities to handle the matter according to the law and publicly announce it on mass media.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 13. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from February 15, 2011.

Article 14. Amendments and Supplements

The Light Industry Department of the Provincial Departments of Industry and Trade shall be responsible for collecting opinions and suggestions from organizations and individuals regarding difficulties encountered in implementing this Circular, report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for consideration and appropriate amendments and supplements./.