The Food Safety Law (ATTP) was promulgated by the XII National Assembly at its 7th session on June 17, 2010, and will officially take effect from July 1, 2011, replacing the 2003 Ordinance on Food Hygiene and Safety. What are the fundamental new points of this important Law regarding the health of the people?
Article table of contents
First of all, regarding the principles of food safety management (ATTP), according to the 2003 Ordinance, there was only content on state management of food hygiene and safety (Article 42). However, the Food Safety Law sets forth six principles, which include ensuring food safety is the responsibility of every organization and individual involved in the production and business of food; food production and business are conditional activities; organizations and individuals that produce and trade food must be responsible for the safety of the food they produce and trade; food safety management must be based on corresponding technical specifications, regulations issued by competent state management agencies, and standards proclaimed by producing organizations and individuals...
Secondly, concerning prohibited acts: according to the Ordinance, only 7 acts were prohibited, but now the Law adds an additional 13 acts, of which three new prohibitions are noteworthy: the production and trade of meat or meat products that have not undergone veterinary inspection or have passed inspection but do not meet requirements; individuals with infectious diseases involved in food production and business; the production and business of food at facilities that do not have a certificate of eligibility for food safety in accordance with the law.
Thirdly, regarding the handling of violations of food safety law: the handling of violations according to legal provisions is a given. However, the Food Safety Law introduces new regulations, which impose penalties based on the type of violation and the value of the food product batch, and it also mandates the confiscation of money obtained through violations. This is the most significant difference compared to the old Ordinance. Additionally, the regulations on the rights and obligations of organizations and individuals are more clearly outlined in the Food Safety Law compared to the Ordinance. Specifically, organizations and individuals producing food have 6 rights and 11 obligations; organizations and individuals trading food have 5 rights and 10 obligations; consumers have 5 rights and 3 obligations.
Fourthly, the conditions ensuring safety for food and conditions ensuring food safety in food production and business; certification of eligibility for food safety in food production and business, importation, and exportation of food: The Law, compared to the Ordinance, specifically stipulates general conditions ensuring food safety and specific conditions for each group of food; conditions ensuring safety for utensils and packaging materials containing food. The Law abolishes the requirement for competent agencies to publicize food hygiene and safety standards, which now must be self-proclaimed by organizations and individuals.
Fifthly, food testing, risk analysis of food safety: Unlike the old Ordinance which only stipulated the prevention and remedy of food poisoning and foodborne diseases, the Food Safety Law encompasses risk analysis, prevention and interruption, and remediation of food safety incidents. Especially, the Law clearly stipulates the implementation of food traceability, recall, and handling of unsafe food.
Sixthly, state management of food safety: Compared to the 2003 Ordinance, which only had 2 articles (Articles 42 and 43) summarizing state management content, the roles of some ministries and central authorities, and the People's Committees at all levels were rather generic and difficult to implement. However, the Food Safety Law increases the number of normative provisions to 5 articles (from Article 61 to Article 65). The Government of Vietnam is also tasked with the unified state management of food safety, while stipulating general responsibilities and specific responsibilities to each ministry and central authority such as the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (PTNT), the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the People's Committees in localities, contributing to the mission of protecting and caring for the health of the people.
Source: baochinhphu.vn
