Decree 15/2018 guiding the Law on Food Safety and its amending and guiding documents in Vietnam

Decree 15/2018 guiding the Law on Food Safety and its amending and guiding documents in Vietnam (Image from the Internet)

Decree 15/2018 guiding the Law on Food Safety in Vietnam

Decree 15/2018/ND-CP details the implementation of several provisions of the Law on Food Safety regarding:

- Procedures for self-declaration of products.

- Procedures for registration of product declaration.

- Ensuring safety for genetically modified foods.- Issuing certificates for establishments meeting food safety conditions.

- State inspection on the safety of imported and exported foods.

- Food labeling.

- Food advertising.

- Conditions ensuring food safety in the production of health-protective foods.

- Conditions ensuring food safety in the production, trading, and usage of food additives.

- Traceability of food origins.

- Allocation of state management responsibility for food safety.

Decree 15/2018/ND-CP is amended and supplemented by the following documents:

- Decree 155/2018/ND-CP amending regulations regarding investment and business conditions under the state management scope of the Ministry of Health.

- Decree 85/2019/ND-CP on the implementation of administrative procedures under the national single-window mechanism, ASEAN single-window mechanism, and specialized inspection for exported and imported goods.

Documents guiding Decree 15/2018 in Vietnam

Decree 15/2018/ND-CP is guided by the following documents:

- Official Dispatch 2129/BCT-KHCN in 2018 implementing Decree 15/2018/ND-CP guiding the Law on Food Safety.

- Official Dispatch 3109/BCT-KHCN in 2018 guiding the implementation of food safety management tasks.

- Circular 43/2018/TT-BCT stipulating the management of food safety under the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

- Circular 25/2019/TT-BYT regulating the traceability of food products under the management of the Ministry of Health.

State inspection authority for imported foods in Vietnam

Article 15 of Decree 15/2018/ND-CP defines the state inspection authority for imported foods as follows:

1. The state inspection authority for imported foods is an agency designated or assigned by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, or the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

In cases where an imported shipment contains various food products under the management of multiple ministries, the state inspection authority is the agency designated or assigned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. The state inspection authority has the following rights and responsibilities:

- Decide to switch the inspection method from the ordinary method to the reduced method and apply the ordinary method after 03 (three) successful stringent inspections for imported foods;

- Conduct food inspections following the methods and procedures prescribed in this Decree;

- Comply with sampling, sample retention according to legal regulations;

- Collect fees, inspection fees, testing fees as per the legal regulations on fees and charges;

- Ensure expertise, accuracy, honesty, and objectivity when inspecting and certifying food safety for import shipments and products;

- Be under the direction, inspection, and guidance on organization and operations from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

- Receive and resolve complaints of shippers. In case it causes damage to the shipper, the state inspection authority is responsible for reimbursing all testing fees, inspection fees, and compensating damages to the shipper (if any) according to legal provisions;

- Retain inspection records according to legal regulations and present the stored records upon request from a competent authority;

- Make reports twice a year to the corresponding specialized management ministry as specified in Form 06 Annex I issued with this Decree or make extraordinary reports when there are warnings from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam or competent authorities in foreign countries or manufacturers, or report on the results of handling non-compliant imported foods.

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