THE PRIME MINISTER
Decision No. 20/QD-TTg of January 4, 2012, approving the national food safety strategy for the 2011-2020 period, with a vision toward 2030
THE PRIME MINISTER
Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;
Pursuant to the June 17, 2010 Law on Food Safety;
Pursuant to the XIIth National Assembly’s Resolution No. 34/2009/QH12 of June 19, 2009, on stepping up the implementation of policies and laws on the management of food quality, hygiene and safety;
At the proposal of the Minister of Health,
DECIDES:
Article 1. To approve the national food safety strategy for the 2011-2020 period, with a vision toward 2030, with the following major contents:
1. Guiding viewpoints
a/ To assure food safety is to assure consumer interests and people’s health, is a constant task requiring concentrated direction of Party committees and administrations of all levels, and is the duty as well as right of food producers and traders and every citizen.
b/ To synchronously implement laws and regulations on food safety, attach importance to inspection and examination work and step up the application of advanced measures in food safety management.
c/ To intensify information and communication work to create profound changes in the awareness of producers, consumers and the whole society about food hygiene and safety assurance.
2. The objectives of the strategy
a/ General objectives
- By 2015, master plans on food safety from production to consumption will be implemented on the basis of a strong and effective management system with considerable and comprehensive impacts on improving the situation of food safety in the country.
- By 2020, the control of food safety in the entire food supply chain will be basically established, ensuring effective and proactive protection of the health and interests of consumers to meet the requirements of national development and international economic integration.
b/ Specific objectives:
- Objective 1: To improve food safety knowledge and practices for target groups.
Targets:
+ By 2015: 70% of food producers, processors and traders, 80% of managers (including leaders of related ministries and sectors; leaders of People’s Committees of all levels; leaders of provincial-level Health, Agriculture and Rural Development, and Industry and Trade Departments; and leaders of food production, processing and trading enterprises), and 70% of consumers will have proper food safety knowledge and practices.
+ By 2020: 95% of food producers, processors and traders, 80% of managers and 70% of consumers will have proper food safety knowledge and practices.
- Objective 2: To build capacity for the food safety management system.
Targets:
+ By 2015: 100% of provinces and centrally run cities will complete their food safety management systems; all centrally run cities, 6 northern border provinces and provinces with a population of 2 million or more will have ISO 17025 laboratories; to form a food safety early warning system and organize and conduct analyses of a number of high risks of food safety in Vietnam.
+ By 2020: All provinces with a population of 1 million or more will have ISO 17025 laboratories.
- Objective 3: To markedly improve food safety assurance by food producers and processors.
Targets:
+ By 2015: 100% of industrial-scale food production and processing establishments will be granted food safety eligibility certificates; at least 30% of consolidated food production, preservation, preliminary processing and processing establishments will apply food quality and safety assurance systems like GMP (good manufacturing practices), HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), ISO 9001 and ISO 22000; to encourage small-scale food production, preservation, preliminary processing and processing establishments to apply these systems.
+ By 2020: 100% of industrial-scale food production and processing establishments will be granted food safety eligibility certificates; at least 80% of consolidated food production, preservation, preliminary processing and processing establishments will apply food quality and safety assurance systems like GMP (good manufacturing practices), HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), ISO 9001 and ISO 22000; 70% of agricultural product processing establishments, 100% of industrial-scale seafood processing establishments will perform quality management according to HACCP, GMP and GHP (good hygiene practices) according to technical regulations on food safety; 80% of fishing wharves and vessels of 90 HP or more, independent ice making establishments for aquatic product processing, material purchasing establishments and agricultural, forest and aquatic product preliminary processing establishments will meet the prescribed conditions for food safety assurance and apply such quality management programs as GMP and SSOP (Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures); 100% of provinces and cities will approve and implement master plans for and assure infrastructure facilities for safe food production zones (focusing on vegetables, tea, meat and aquatic products for domestic consumption); 100% of key aquaculture zones producing large material quantities for industrial processing and 80% of small and scattered aquaculture areas will be supervised in toxic chemical residues; 60% of vegetable and tea growing areas will apply VietGAP (Vietnamese good agricultural practices).
- Objective 4: To markedly improve food safety assurance by food traders.
Targets:
+ By 2015: 40% of catering service establishments and 80% of collective kitchens will be granted food safety eligibility certificates; 100% of supermarkets will be controlled in food safety; and 50% of marketplaces will be planned and controlled in food safety (excluding spontaneous ones).
+ By 2020: 80% of catering service establishments and 100% of collective kitchens will be granted food safety eligibility certificates; and 80% of marketplaces will be planned and controlled in food safety (excluding spontaneous ones).
- Objective 5: To effectively prevent acute food poisoning.
Targets:
+ By 2015: To reduce 25% of recorded acute food poisoning cases involving 30 persons or more compared to the average number of cases during 2006-2010. The rate of recorded acute food poisoning cases will be below 8 persons/100,000 people.
+ By 2020: To reduce 30-35% of recorded acute food poisoning cases involving 30 persons or more compared to the average number of cases during 2006-2010. The rate of recorded acute food poisoning will be below 7 persons/100,000 people.
c/ Vision toward 2030
By 2030, food safety activities will be proactively and effectively managed based on evidence and chain-based control; 100% of food producers, processors and traders, managers and consumers will have proper food safety knowledge and practices; 100% of food production, processing and trading establishments will meet food safety conditions.
3. Major solutions for the strategy implementation
a/ Group of direction and administration solutions
- To increase the leadership of the Party and administrations of all levels over food safety assurance work.
- To perfect the legal system on food safety.
- To bring into play the role of the central and local joint steering committees for food hygiene and safety and raise the role of the task forces assisting local steering committees in properly organizing coordinated activities, with the health sector acting as the focal point.
b/ Group of professional and technical solutions
- To continue to strongly and synchronously carry out information, education and communication activities for changing food safety behaviors; to develop communication skills; to increase the quantity and quality of communication materials and messages on food safety.
- To enhance capacity for the food safety state management system:
+ To strengthen the Food Safety and Hygiene Sub-Departments and Agricultural, Forest and Aquatic Food Product Management Sub-Departments in provinces and centrally run cities regarding personnel, equipment and physical foundations to be capable of managing food safety in their localities.
+ To enhance capacity for specialized food safety inspectorates from central to local levels.
+ To strengthen food safety state examination agencies; to establish an inter-agency information system for state examination agencies to coordinate in performing state examination of food safety.
+ To increase the percentage of laboratories meeting ISO 17025 and GLP (good laboratory practices); to concentrate investment in infrastructure facilities and equipment for central laboratories to verify food safety. To invest in upgrading a number of central and local laboratories to reach regional and international standards.
+ To decentralize powers along with providing training to raise management capacity and professional qualifications for local officers in food safety management so that they can meet requirements of assigned tasks.
- To step up supervision, inspection, examination and handling of violations of the food safety law:
+ To intensify inspection and control of the production and trading of plant protection chemicals and agricultural supplies and ensure that they are used properly in terms of quality, category, dosage and isolation time in cultivation, husbandry and preservation and processing of agricultural food.
+ To constantly supervise and check toxic chemical residues in agricultural and aquatic products for consumption; to strictly control slaughter and hygiene in animal health and fishery activities; to inspect the compliance with regulations on food safety assurance in the entire production chain.
+ To prevent the trading of fake, inferior-quality, expired, improperly labeled, smuggled, fraudulent and unsafe food products.
+ To intensify supervision and inspection of catering service establishments and supervise food safety risks.
- To elaborate technical regulations on food safety:
+ To elaborate national technical regulations on food safety.
+ To elaborate technical requirements to closely control the safety of agricultural, forest and aquatic products before they are marketed.
- To further implement and expand nation-wide advanced food safety management models:
+ To perfect and apply good manufacturing practice processes (VietGAP and VietGAHP - Vietnamese regulations on good husbandry practices) and GAP and GAHP manuals in vegetable, fruit and tea growing and cattle and poultry raising.
+ To promote certification activities and elaborate regulations on VietGAP and VietGAHP examination and certification; to assess, designate and supervise activities of VietGAP and VietGAHP certification and certification support organizations.
+ To experiment and expand models of application of good manufacturing practices in vegetable, fruit and tea growing, cattle and poultry raising and aquaculture associated with the certification and announcement of quality standards.
+ To widely disseminate and guide food processing enterprises in applying advanced food safety and quality management systems (GMP, GHP, HACCP and ISO 22000).
- To enhance capacity to prevent and control food poisoning and food-borne diseases:
+ To enhance the operation capacity of the system to supervise, record and prevent food poisoning and food-borne diseases.
+ To closely examine the implementation of the food safety law, especially regulations on food safety conditions of collective kitchens, meal suppliers, restaurants, hotels, tourist sites, festivals, street food stalls, marketplaces, ports, schools, industrial parks and export processing zones; to clearly define the responsibilities of owners of catering service establishments, resolutely prohibit ineligible establishments from producing and trading food and providing catering services; and to strictly handle violations.
+ To step up certification of food safety conditions in food production and trading activities.
- To form a food safety risk warning and analysis system to serve the evidence-based food safety management:
+ To form an early warning and risk analysis system to provide scientific grounds for the food safety management.
+ To proactively and quickly handle emergency incidents related to food safety and propose remedies.
+ To closely and effectively cooperate with other countries in the region and the world in sharing information and handling issues of food safety.
+ To closely coordinate with the Codex organization and international technical organizations in food safety.
c/ Group of resource solutions
- To increase food safety training:
+ To increase full-time food safety staffs at all levels to be capable of managing and administering food safety assurance activities nationwide.
+ To promote collegial and tertiary food safety training activities at universities and research institutes that have the food safety training function. To retrain food safety managers, inspectors and testers of all levels; to incrementally increase the percentage of staffs with university and postgraduate qualifications.
+ To train and attract professionally qualified personnel for performing food safety management tasks.
+ To introduce food safety education into general schools.
- To step up scientific research: Research institutes and universities shall focus on researches to identify and assess the food safety situation and propose intervention measures to improve the situation.
- To increase international cooperation on food safety:
+ To further conclude treaties and bilateral and multilateral agreements concerning food safety.
+ To expand international cooperation in food-related scientific research, training, information, techniques, regulations and standards.
+ To promote regional and global cooperation relations in the settlement of food safety issues.
+ To closely cooperate with neighboring countries, especially those bordering on Vietnam, to jointly deal with urgent issues of mutual concern.
- To socialize food safety assurance activities:
+ To issue policies, lists and roadmaps for socialization of food safety management activities; to perfect the mechanisms of management, assessment and accreditation of food safety control establishments under the socialization policy.
+ To step up socialization of a number of technical services in food safety management; to promote the role of enterprises, social organizations and mass organizations in food safety assurance work.
+ To develop and encourage individuals and organizations to invest, set up joint ventures or joint undertakings and transfer technologies in food safety testing, and certification organizations.
+ To encourage establishments to maintain good food safety conditions along with applying strict inspection measures to violating establishments.
- To increase funds for food safety assurance activities. To socialize and diversify funding sources and incrementally increase investment in these activities.
Funds for the strategy implementation will come from the central budget, local budgets, donations and other lawful sources in accordance with law.
4. Major programs and schemes
a/ The national target program on food safety and hygiene during 2011-2015
- Drafting agency: the Ministry of Health
- Coordinating agencies: the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Ministry of Finance.
b/ The scheme on training human resources for food safety assurance
- Drafting agency: the Ministry of Health
- Coordinating agencies: the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Education and Training.
c/ The scheme on food safety control with respect to imported food
- Drafting agency: the Ministry of Industry and Trade
- Coordinating agencies: the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
d/ The scheme on promoting communication on food safety through 2015
- Drafting agency: the Ministry of Health
- Coordinating agencies: the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Information and Communications.
e/ The scheme on enhancing capacity for specialized food safety inspectorates
- Drafting agency: Ministry of Health
- Coordinating agencies: the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Government Inspectorate.
f/ The scheme on food safety assurance in cattle and poultry slaughter and transportation
- Drafting agency: the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
- Coordinating agencies: provincial-level People’s Committees.
g/ The scheme on food safety assurance marketplaces
- Drafting agency: the Ministry of Industry and Trade
- Coordinating agencies: the Ministry of Health and provincial-level People’s Committees.
h/ The scheme on enhancing capacity for the market management force to inspect and control food in circulation on the market
- Drafting agency: the Ministry of Industry and Trade
- Coordinating agencies: provincial-level People’s Committees.
i/ The scheme on the building and development of the model of safe food supply chains nationwide
- Drafting agency: the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
- Coordinating agencies: provincial-level People’s Committees.
Article 2. Organization of implementation
1. The Ministry of Health shall:
a/ Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with other ministries and sectors in, implementing the contents of the strategy within the scope of its assigned tasks and powers.
b/ Supervise, monitor and urge the implementation of the strategy by ministries, sectors and localities.
c/ Coordinate with related ministries and sectors and People’s Committees of all levels in conducting food safety examination and inspection; urge other ministries, sectors and localities to discharge their assigned responsibilities for food safety assurance.
d/ Organize periodical preliminary and final reviews and report to the Prime Minister on the strategy implementation results.
2. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall:
a/ Closely coordinate with the Ministry of Health and other related ministries and sectors in implementing the solutions, programs and schemes of the strategy within the scope of their assigned tasks and powers.
b/ Direct the formation and development of raw-material zones for the production of safe agricultural food; apply production processes suitable to agricultural food production households.
c/ Increase close inspection and control of food safety during production, preliminary processing, processing and trading.
d/ Closely coordinate with the Ministry of Health in tracking food origin upon occurrence of food poisoning cases, and managing food contamination risks.
3. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall
a/ Closely coordinate with the Ministry of Health and related ministries and sectors in implementing the solutions, programs and schemes of the strategy within the scope of their assigned tasks and powers.
b/ Direct and examine the implementation of regulations to assure food safety at marketplaces and supermarkets, especially at wholesale markets.
c/ Examine and control to prevent the trading of fake, interior-quality and smuggled food.
4. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall coordinate with related ministries and sectors in reviewing and promulgating regulations on certification and announcement of standard and technical regulation conformity and regulations concerning quality, standards and labels of food products; and adopt policies to encourage and promote research and application of advanced sciences to food safety.
5. The Ministry of Education and Training shall:
a/ Closely control the provision of catering services at schools and build models of safe school kitchens in association with the “Teach Well and Learn Well” campaign and other campaigns in the education sector.
b/ Coordinate with the Ministry of Health in organizing public information and education on food safety at schools and mobilize teachers and pupils to actively participate in food safety assurance activities; and set a roadmap for introducing food safety into teaching curricula at all levels.
6. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall arrange funds for activities of the strategy according to the National Assembly-approved annual budget plans, and actively raise financial donations at home and abroad for food safety assurance work.
7. The Ministry of Finance shall arrange sufficient funds for the implementation of the food safety strategy, programs, schemes, plans and master plans; examine and supervise the use of these funds; and assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Health and related agencies in, formulating policies to promote socialization and encourage individuals and organizations to invest in food safety activities.
8. The Ministry of Home Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and sectors and direct localities in, assuring personnel for the food safety management system, and formulate and submit a regime of occupational incentives for food safety workers to the Government for approval.
9. Depending on their assigned functions and tasks, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense shall:
a/ Participate in public information and education activities to raise food safety awareness and practices of ethnic minority people in their stationed areas, deep-lying, remote, border and island areas.
b/ Direct public security and border guard forces to coordinate with customs and local agencies in controlling and preventing the cross-border smuggling of food.
c/ Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and sectors in, detecting, investigating and handling, and support the handling of, food safety-related violations.
10. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall:
a/ Coordinate with the Ministry of Health and related ministries and sectors in organizing public information and dissemination of knowledge about food safety law.
b/ Direct newspapers and radio and television stations from the central to commune level, mobile information teams and public address systems in wards and communes to reserve appropriate sections and time volumes to disseminate food safety knowledge and law and information on food safety assurance activities.
11. Vietnam Television, Radio Voice of Vietnam and Vietnam News Agency shall coordinate with communication agencies and television and radio stations at all levels in reporting on food safety as a routine content of broadcasts, and earmark time volumes for broadcasts on food safety assurance and have regular sections on food safety assurance.
12. The Vietnam Fatherland Front shall carry out mass agitation and education activities and launch movements on food safety assurance in association with the campaign for building cultured villages and communes in residential areas with a view to promoting the formation of practices of producing, processing, trading and consuming safe agricultural, forest and fishery products in the community.
13. The Central Vietnam Women’s Union is requested to:
a/ Assume the prime responsibility for launching a movement among women nationwide to take part in food safety assurance activities.
b/ Coordinate with ministries and functional sectors in organizing food safety training, information and communication programs for women, especially housewives and small-scale female traders and producers.
14. The Central Vietnam Peasants’ Association is requested to:
a/ Coordinate in training activities to guide members in producing safe food, methods of scientific processing and preservation and proper use of plant protection chemicals and safe feeds and fertilizers.
b/ Assume the prime responsibility for launching a movement on good initiatives and practices of food safety assurance, and actively combat unsafe practices in the community.
c/ Coordinate with related sectors in popularizing and guiding advanced technical solutions to assure food safety in food production, processing, trading and preservation.
15. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall:
a/ Directly direct, plan and organize the implementation of the strategy.
b/ Incorporate food safety criteria in local socio-economic development plans. Take the initiative in investing local budgets, human resources and physical foundations for food safety assurance programs in their localities.
c/ Direct, implement and closely examine the implementation of the food safety law, especially regulations on food safety conditions of collective kitchens, meal suppliers, restaurants, hotels, tourist sites, festivals, street food stalls, marketplaces, ports, schools, industrial parks and export processing zones; clearly define the responsibilities of units owning catering service establishments, resolutely prohibit establishments which fail to meet law-prescribed conditions from producing and trading food and providing catering services; and strictly handle violations.
16. Implementation and coordination mechanism
- The central and local Interdisciplinary Steering Committees for Food Hygiene and Safety shall direct the strategy implementation.
- On the basis of the general objectives and solutions, ministries, sectors, localities and mass organizations shall, depending on their functions and tasks, formulate and implement schemes and plans, and send annual reports on the implementation progress and results to the Ministry of Health for summarization and reporting to the Prime Minister.
Article 3. This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing for promulgation.
Article 4. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, heads of related agencies and organizations and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall implement this Decision.-
For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
NGUYEN THIEN NHAN
Vietnamese
Decision 20/QĐ-TTg DOC (Word)
Decision 20/QĐ-TTg PDF (Original)
Decision 20/QĐ-TTg ZIP (Word)
