New regulations on the procedures for veterinary sanitation inspection in Vietnam from January 6, 2025

New regulations on the procedures for veterinary sanitation inspection in Vietnam from January 6, 2025​ (Image from Internet)

On November 20, 2024, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam promulgated Circular 15/2024/TT-BNNPTNT, amending Circular 09/2016/TT-BNNPTNT regarding the control of slaughtering and veterinary sanitation inspection.

New regulations on the procedures for veterinary sanitation inspection in Vietnam from January 6, 2025

Clause 6 Article 37 of Circular 09/2016/TT-BNNPTNT (amended by Circular 15/2024/TT-BNNPTNT) sets out the procedures for veterinary sanitation inspection from January 6, 2025, as follows:

(1) Annually, the inspection agency will create a list of facilities under its management to develop an inspection plan; prepare a budget estimate for approval by the competent authority; form the inspection team; notify the facilities to be inspected of the plan, schedule, content, and method of inspection;

(2) Organizing the Inspection

The inspection team will conduct on-site inspections at the facilities, collect summary descriptive information according to Form 02 Appendix II issued together with Circular 09/2016/TT-BNNPTNT;

Proceed to evaluate as per regulations, recording the full assessment levels for each criterion in the corresponding columns of the Inspection Record according to the form in Appendix II issued with Circular 15/2024/TT-BNNPTNT. Specifically:

- Form 07a: Veterinary sanitation inspection record for centralized animal slaughterhouses;

- Form 07b: Veterinary sanitation inspection record for animal disease diagnostic, testing facilities; animal surgery facilities;

- Form 07c: Veterinary sanitation inspection record for animal-origin feed material production facilities and other animal products not intended for food; facilities processing animals, animal products for business purposes;

- Form 07d: Veterinary sanitation inspection record for businesses dealing in animal products.

(3) Sampling: In case there is suspicion that the inspection criteria do not guarantee veterinary sanitation, samples must be taken and referenced against corresponding national technical standards for evaluation.

Organizations and individuals have the right to appeal if they disagree with the initial test results and are permitted to retake samples or use reserved samples for retesting. If the test results are erroneous, the cost of retesting is borne by the testing party.

(4) Preparing Records and Issuing Conclusions on Veterinary sanitation Inspection Results

For facilities not requiring sampling: The head of the inspection team sends the Inspection Record to the Head of the inspection agency; based on the Inspection Record, the Head of the inspection agency issues the Conclusion on the results of the veterinary sanitation inspection according to Form 07e in Appendix II issued with Circular 15/2024/TT-BNNPTNT.

The submission of the Inspection Record and issuance of the Conclusion on the results of the veterinary sanitation inspection is completed within 3 working days from the end of the inspection.

For facilities requiring sampling: The head of the inspection team sends the Inspection Record to the Head of the inspection agency; based on the Inspection Record and sample testing results, the Head issues the Conclusion according to Form 07e in Appendix II along with Circular 15/2024/TT-BNNPTNT.

The submission and issuance process for such facilities is completed within 15 days from the conclusion of the inspection.

For operating facilities, if administrative violations related to veterinary sanitation are detected during the inspection, the team records them and processes them accordingly or transfers them to the competent authority for legal action.

(5) Periodic inspections are conducted according to the above order; initial and unscheduled inspections follow the sequence described in (2), (3), (4);

(6) For facilities classified as "UNACCEPTABLE", corrective actions are required: Once the inspection team receives the corrective report from the facility, an assessment of the corrective measures is conducted. If the corrective content meets the requirements, the team leader submits the Inspection Record (with the corrective report attached) to the Head of the Inspection Agency, and an official Conclusion is issued according to Form 07e in Appendix II accompanying Circular 15/2024/TT-BNNPTNT.

Completion of the submission and issuance process for the corrective actions is within 3 working days from receipt of a satisfactory corrective report.

In cases where the corrective report does not meet the requirements, the inspection team revisits the facility to inspect the corrective measures. The inspection process for corrective action follows the unscheduled inspection procedures.

More details can be found in Circular 15/2024/TT-BNNPTNT effective from January 6, 2025.

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