What are the duties and powers of the Food Safety Risk and Testing Management Agency in Vietnam?

What are the duties and powers of the Food Safety Risk and Testing Management Agency in Vietnam? (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. What organization is the Food Safety Risk and Testing Management Agency in Vietnam?

According to Article 1 of Decision 240/QD-QLCL in 2014, the Food Safety Risk and Testing Management Agency is an organization under the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Quality Management (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) and has the function of advising and assisting the Director in managing food safety and quality testing (hereinafter referred to as testing work) and assessing food safety risks in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries under the scope of state management of the Department.

2. What are the duties and powers of the Food Safety Risk and Testing Management Agency in Vietnam?

Duties and powers of the Food Safety Risk and Testing Management Agency are specified in Article 1 of Decision 240/QD-QLCL 2014, including:

- Propose, develop, or participate in the development of: legal documents according to the Ministry's annual legal development program and plan; strategies, planning, plans, programs, projects, schemes, and technical regulations documents in the fields in charge of the Department as assigned by the Director.

- Propose and organize the development of documents guiding the implementation, inspection, and supervision of the implementation of legal documents, programs, projects, schemes, planning strategies, and plans related to testing and food safety risk assessment.

- Regarding management of testing and verification activities:

+ Participate in planning the network of testing laboratories and verification laboratories in the Agriculture and Rural Development sector as assigned by the Ministry;

+ Propose and develop investment programs and projects in testing equipment and infrastructure to serve testing activities; Participate in appraising and supervising the implementation of investment programs and projects to upgrade testing laboratories within the Department's management;

+ Propose, develop plans, and evaluate standard analysis processes applied throughout the system to meet the requirements of Vietnam, international and regional organizations, and import markets;

+ Organize assessment and appraisal and submit them to the Director of the Department to designate or revoke the decision to designate testing laboratories; inspect and supervise testing laboratories under the Department's management;

+ Instruct agricultural, forestry, and fishery product quality management agencies to develop plans and organize periodic and unscheduled assessments of testing laboratories according to the Department's hierarchy;

+ Propose building a testing laboratory to verify food quality and safety in the field of management of the Department; Deploy inspection and evaluation and submit them to the Director of the Department to report to the competent authority to designate testing laboratories for verification according to the Ministry's decentralization;

+ Appraise rapid field inspection methods to serve the quality control of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products. Appraisal of norms, technical standards, processes, and regulations on quality testing of agricultural, forestry, fishery, food, and non-food products;

+ Instruct testing laboratories to comply with testing laboratory quality management; Propose plans and coordinate participation in domestic and international inter-laboratory testing programs;

+ Inspect and supervise the implementation of regulations and technical standards on ensuring the quality of testing results and managing the quality of testing laboratories under the Department's management.

- Regarding management of food safety risk assessment activities.

+ Advise on building a network on food safety risk assessment and a working group on food safety risk assessment;

+ Develop plans and programs to assess food safety risks; Coordinate with relevant units to propose measures to manage food safety risks; provide information for communication about food safety risks;

+ Organize appraisal and acceptance of food safety risk assessment results; inspect and supervise the implementation of food safety risk assessment as assigned by the Director.

- Perform other tasks:

+ Assess needs and develop plans to submit to the Director of the Department on organizing conferences, seminars, training and fostering courses to improve the capacity of testing staff of affiliated units and staff performing food safety risk assessment;

+ Organize and carry out investigations, statistics, and management of databases and scientific and technological information in testing and verification activities according to regulations;

+ Carry out international cooperation in the fields of quality testing, food safety in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, and food safety risk assessment;

+ Propose scientific research topics and organize the application of technological and technical advances in the field of testing and verification; Organize an appraisal of outlines, research topics, research results, and the application of technological and technical advances in the field of testing;

+ Carry out administrative reform tasks in the field of testing;

+ Advise on state management of public services in the fields of quality testing and food safety in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries.

- Manage officials, civil servants, records, assets, and other assigned resources according to regulations.

- Perform other tasks as assigned by the Director.

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