Proposal on amendments to the Law on Food Safety in Vietnam

Proposal on amendments to the Law on Food Safety in Vietnam (Internet image)

Prime Minister of Vietnam issued Decision 426/QD-TTg dated April 21, 2023 on Action plan for the implementation of Directive 17-CT/TW dated October 21, 2022 on enhancing food security and safety in the new situation.

Proposal on amendments to the Law on Food Safety in Vietnam 

The Prime Minister of Vietnam requested that the Ministry of Health assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate with other ministries: Agriculture and Rural Development, Industry and Trade, Justice, relevant ministries and branches, and People's Committees of provinces and cities to review the implementation of the Law on Food Safety and propose amendments to the Law on Food Safety.

At the same time, the Ministry of Health of Vietnam also performs the following tasks:

- Continue to improve capacity to prevent and proactively handle food poisoning and food-borne diseases.

- Promulgate national technical regulations or regulations on safety limits for groups of products at the request of specialized management ministries.

- Build a database on assurance of food security and safety linked to the national and specialized database system.

- Formulate and promulgate national technical regulations for products in their assigned management domains.

- Step up propaganda, advocacy, and education on ensuring food security and safety;

Provide information, advice, and legal support, and actively strengthen the role and responsibilities of supervision and social criticism in the work of ensuring food security and safety;

Focus on arousing and promoting honesty, business ethics, and a sense of responsibility for the community of each business, businessman, household, and individual to ensure food safety, especially in production and business.

Tasks to strengthen food security and safety in the new situation in Vietnam 

According to Decision 426/QD-TTg, the Prime Minister of Vietnam requested ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, and authorities at all levels to continue to focus on directing the effective implementation of the following tasks and solutions to manage and ensure food security and safety:

- Strengthen leadership, direction and strictly implement the guidelines of the Party, policies, and laws of the State on the work of ensuring food security and safety; put food safety and security goals and targets into the socio-economic development programs and plans of localities and units.

- Focus on reviewing, amending, supplementing, and perfecting the system of legal documents, coordination mechanisms between ministries, branches, and localities, standards and regulations on ensuring food security and safety, ; principles and sanctions for handling violations of food security and safety.

- Strengthen the role and responsibility for supervision and social criticism in the field of food security and safety.

Promote the role of cooperatives, associations, and industries in linking and supporting the production, preservation, processing, and consumption of safe and quality food.

- Consolidate the organization of the apparatus for food security and safety in the direction of unifying only one focal point to perform tasks from central to local levels.

Clearly define the functions, tasks, and responsibilities of the branches in ensuring food security and safety.

- Develop plans and quotas for staff in charge of state management of food safety to meet the requirements of strengthening inspection, examination, and control of food safety from production, processing, and consumption. Improve capacity and responsibility, and have appropriate mechanisms and policies for the contingent of officials doing the state management of food security and safety.

- Strengthen and expand international cooperation, especially with neighboring countries, in food safety activities.

Promote the signing of treaties and international agreements on mutual recognition in the food sector to promote the export of Vietnamese food products to countries with high technical standards.

- Strengthen the inspection, examination, and supervision of the work of ensuring food security and safety; resolutely fight, prevent, and strictly handle organizations, individuals, production, and business establishments that violate regulations on food security and safety; proactively prevent and combat negativity and group interests in the field of food security and safety.

At the same time, strictly handle acts of taking advantage of food security and safety to reduce reputation and negatively affect the healthy production and business of organizations, businesses, and individuals.

- Build safe and quality food supply value chains; giving priority to the development of specialized cultivation and agricultural production areas that are clean and safe. Control food safety right from inputs in production and business;...

- Specific tasks of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies attached to the Government, People's Committees of provinces, and centrally run cities are in the attached Appendix.

More details can be found in Decision 426/QD-TTg effective from the date of signing.

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