Decision No. 43/2006/QD-TTg dated February 20, 2006 of the Prime Minister approving the national action plan for food safety and hygiene till 2010

DECISION

APPROVING THE NATIONAL ACTION PLAN FOR FOOD SAFETY AND HYGIENE TILL 2010

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the June 30, 1989 Law on Protection of the People's Health;

Pursuant to the July 26, 2003 Ordinance on Food Safety and Hygiene;

At the proposal of the Health Minister in Report No. 8972/TTr-BYT of November 3, 2005,

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To approve the national action plan for food safety and hygiene till 2010 with the following contents:

1. Objectives:

a/ General objective:

To ensure food safety and hygiene (abbreviated to FSH) in service of consumption, contributing to the protection of the people's health and socio-economic development and meeting the international economic integration requirements.

b/ Specific objectives:

- To raise the awareness, FSH practice and sense of responsibility of food producers, dealers and consumers. To strive to achieve by 2010 the target that 90% of the food producers, 80% of the food dealers, 100% of the managers and leaders and 80% of the consumers correctly understand and practice FSH.

- To enhance capacity of the system of FSH-managing, - inspecting or - testing organizations from the central to local levels and at the concerned ministries and branches. To strive to achieve by 2010 the target that 100% of officials engaged in FSH management and testing at the central, regional, provincial, municipal levels are trained and fostered to raise their professional qualifications; 90% of officials engaged in the FSH activities at the grassroots level (urban districts, rural districts, communes, wards) can attend training and fostering courses on knowledge and practicing skills in quick inspection and detection of food contamination.

- To strive to achieve by 2010 the target that 80% of the food standards are compatible with the world standards.

- To step by step apply the FSH quality management system according to the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) system. To strive to achieve by 2010 the target that 100% of the high-risk food production establishments apply the HACCP system.

- To elaborate a program on analyzing and managing risks of causing food contamination, actively preventing food poisoning and diseases spreading through foods.

To establish a synchronous food contamination control system from production to circulation and supervise food poisoning. To strive to achieve by 2010 the target that the level ofallowed-for-use chemical and antibiotic residue in excess of the permitted limits remains at 1-3% of the total food samples inspected.

2. Contents and implementation solutions

a/ To enhance the state management capacity and build up an effective system of FSH management organizations from the central to local levels.

- To basically complete the system of legal documents on FSH management from production to processing, preservation, circulation and trading of food. To amend, supplement and promulgate legal documents suitable to the new period.

- To finalize the system of FSH quality standards compatible with international standards, in line with the international economic integration roadmap.

- To consolidate and perfect the system of state management over FSH, comprising the sections of FSH management, testing and specialized inspection from the central to local levels and at the concerned ministries and branches.

b/ To supervise the situation of food contamination, food poisoning and diseases spreading via foods. To work out a program on analyzing food contamination risks. To build up a system of supervision of food poisoning and diseases spreading via foods and participate in the international system for monitoring food contamination and food poisoning. By 2010, to have built 4 centers for supervising food contamination and food poisoning at 4 Institutes of the Health Ministry in four regions, the North, the Center, the South and the Central Highlands.

c/ To step up the information, education and communication on FSH at communities.

- To intensify the propagation, education and dissemination of knowledge on FSH and legal documents to food producers, processors and dealers.

- To socialize the work of education and communications on FSH and develop the contingent of collaborators for propagation of FSH at grassroots so that by 2010, 100% of urban districts and rural districts have FSH propagaters and 100% of communes, wards and district townships have FSH propagation collaborators.

d/ To build and develop the FSH-testing systems at ministries, branches and throughout the country.

To plan and develop the FSH-testing systems at ministries, branches and localities according to the Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) standards and standardize laboratories according to the international standards (ISO/IEC 17025); to build a network of information on testing demands and testing result management.

e/ To step up the examination and inspection of the implementation of legal documents on FSH.

- To intensify the periodical and extraordinary FSH examination and inspection at concentrated husbandry and cultivation regions, food production, processing and trading establishments.

- To periodically take samples of materials for food production and processing for analyzing and assessing the extents of biological pollution and harmful chemical residues in farm produce, food.

- To control the safety and hygiene of imported foods and supplies in service of agriculture, fisheries, food additives, preservatives and processing supporting substances; functional foods and high-risk foods.

- To intensify quarantine and safety and hygiene inspection of live animals and foods of animal origin at slaughter houses and wholesale markets.

- To regularly inspect the origins of foods of vegetative origin (fresh vegetables, tubers, fruits) and apply quick test to detect harmful chemical residues in foods.

f/ To intensify inter-branch activities to ensure FSH

- To intensify interbranch coordinated activities in FSH control and build pilot FSH models for application of principles of advanced management systems; to expand the application of models in production establishments and communities.

- To form the organizations granting certificates of safe farm produce, food products, safe food supply and production establishments.

g/ To step up the research into and application of science, techniques and advanced technologies in service of FSH management.

To concentrate on research into the FSH impacts on health, social and economic life and study the method of limiting the food-contamination causes.

h/ To promote international cooperation on food safety and hygiene.

To intensify cooperation with the world and regional food standardization committees (Codex) in the course of building up food standards; to implement the agreement on application of FSH measures and animal and plant quarantine (SPS Agreement) and the Agreement on technical barriers in trade (TBT Agreement) in the process of joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in order to limit food contamination. To call for investment from international projects for upgrading the system of FSH-testing laboratories and training FSH-managing and -testing officials.

i/ To increase investment in FSH activities from the central to local levels.

3. Implementation progress

a/ Stage 1 (2006-2007): To conduct synchronous activities, giving priority to activities of promulgating legal documents and formulating FSH standards; building and developing the FSH management networks; accelerating the information, education and communications on FSH in communities; examining, inspecting, detecting and handling violations of law on FSH at various stages from production to circulation in the market; planning and developing the FSH-testing system, above all building the national FSH-testing laboratory and regional testing laboratories of GLP and ISO/IEC 17025 standards.

b/ Stage 2 (2008-2010): To continue with activities, giving priority to activities of controlling food contamination; establishing a quick warning system of unsafe food, a supervision system of food poisoning and participating in international and regional systems; building up pilot models and effecting food contamination control at models..., and, at the same time, to examine and evaluate the attainment of set objectives of the plan.

4. Funds for implementation

Annually, the Health Ministry and concerned ministries and branches shall coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance in formulating plans and funding estimates for implementation of the action plan according to the provisions of the State Budget Law.

Funds for implementation of this action plan shall cover the following main sources: the central budget, international cooperation projects; local budgets; contributions of food-producing, -processing and/or -trading enterprises; domestic and foreign organizations and individuals.

Article 2.- Assignment of responsibilities for organization of the implementation

1. The Inter-branch Steering Committee for Food Safety and Hygiene shall have the responsibility to direct, monitor, inspect and urge ministries, branches, provincial/municipal People's Committees in effectively implementing the national action plan for food safety and hygiene.

2. The Ministry of Health

a/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in, elaborating and promulgating according to competence legal documents guiding the implementation of the Ordinance on Food Safety and Hygiene and Decree No. 163/2004/ND-CP of September 7, 2004, detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Ordinance on Food Safety and Hygiene.

b/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Culture and Information and concerned ministries and branches in, formulating the strategy on FSH information, communications and education; coordinate with mass organizations, local departments and branches in building up the network of FSH propagation collaborators at grassroots.

c/ To control microbiological pollution and chemical residues in foods circulated in the market such as functional foods, high-risk foods, imported foods and food additives; home-made foods, foods in and after processing for domestic consumption.

d/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Science and Technology and the concerned ministries and branches in, planning and developing the testing systems throughout the country.

e/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in, building the systems of quick warning of unsafe food and forecast of food contamination risks; building the system of supervising food poisoning and diseases spreading via foods.

f/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in, examining and inspecting FSH.

g/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with local People's Committees and concerned agencies in, building a number of FSH models at communities.

h/ To act as the principal body in regulating and coordinating the implementation of the plan. To make and submit to the Prime Minister annual reports on implementation of the national action plan for FSH.

3. The Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development

a/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in, elaborating and promulgating according to competence or submitting to the Government for promulgation legal documents on ensuring FSH in the process of producing agricultural food products.

b/ To coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and concerned agencies in formulating and submitting to the Government mechanisms and policies of encouraging investment in construction of concentrated animal slaughter houses to ensure food safety and hygiene.

c/ To control veterinary hygiene for animal feed raw materials, animal feeds of animal origin.

d/ To control the safety and hygiene quality of animal feeds and agricultural supplies.

e/ To control animal epidemics, raw vegetables, plant varieties, animal breeds.

f/ To control microbiology and chemical residues in agricultural foods in the course of production, processing, preservation and transportation.

g/ To control veterinary hygiene for imported and exported foods of animal origin.

h/ To direct the development of safe farm produce-manufacturing regions (vegetable region, fruit region, safe tea, safe husbandry region,...).

i/ To direct, inspect and recognize safety and hygiene conditions of husbandry establishments, slaughter houses, which reach the standards of the GMP, SSOP, HACCP management systems.

j/ To coordinate with the Health Ministry and concerned ministries and branches in joining the quick warning system of unsafe food.

4. The Ministry of Fisheries

a/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in, elaborating and promulgating according to competence or submitting to the Government for promulgation legal documents on aquatic food safety and hygiene, controlling aquatic epidemics and diseases and environmental protection.

b/ To control aquatic animal and plant diseases, biological pollution and chemical residues in aquatic products being fresh and raw or processed foods in the course of transportation, importation and exportation.

c/ To control aquatic food safety and hygiene and aquatic products processed for domestic consumption in the course of processing, preservation and transportation.

d/ To control the safety and hygiene quality of animal feeds and fishery production supplies.

e/ To organize the inspection and recognition of safety and hygiene conditions for production and/or business establishments at various stages from aquatic product exploitation, culture, preservation and processing (covering the programs on quality management according to GMP, GHP, SSOP, HACCP standards).

f/ To coordinate with the Health Ministry and concerned ministries and branches in joining the quick warning system of unsafe food.

5. The Trade Ministry

a/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Health Ministry and concerned ministries and branches in, examining and inspecting food trading activities in the market, particularly groups of food highly prone to contamination; controlling food labels, fake foods.

b/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in, elaborating and promulgating legal documents on conditions for food catering business and fresh and raw food service and business under the Ordinance on Food Safety and Hygiene.

c/ To coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in managing the concentrated animal slaughtering and applying GHP, HACCP at slaughter houses of industrial scale.

6. The Ministry of Science and Technology

a/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministries of Health, Agricultural and Rural Development as well as concerned ministries and branches in, formulating and promulgating Vietnamese standards on food quality, safety and hygiene for different kinds of food products.

b/ To coordinate with the Health Ministry and concerned ministries and branches in planning and developing the FSH-testing systems throughout the country.

7. The Ministry of Culture and Information

a/ To coordinate with the Central Commission for Ideology and Culture and concerned ministries and branches in directing the work of information and propagation on FSH in the culture and information sector and the entire society.

b/ To direct the mass media agencies in intensifying propagation and education in legal and general knowledge on FSH for different groups of subjects.

c/ To coordinate with the Health Ministry and concerned ministries and branches in controlling activities of food advertisement.

8. The Ministry of Industry

a/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in, elaborating and promulgating according to competence legal documents guiding the participation in international integration activities in the management and harmonization of standards and technical regulations on FSH applicable to production process of food establishments under the industrial sector's management.

b/ To control microbiological pollution and chemical residues in the course of food processing under its management.

c/ To coordinate with the Health Ministry in guiding the GHP, HACCP application at food processing enterprises, particularly small- and medium-sized food production and processing enterprises.

d/ To develop food production science and technologies, ensuring hygiene and safety.

e/ To coordinate with the Health Ministry and concerned ministries and branches injoining the quick warning system of unsafe food.

9. The Ministry of Planning and Investment

a/ To call for investment from international projects on FSH, particularly the food poisoning supervision system, the unsafe food quick warning system and the FSH-testing system.

b/ To ensure necessary resources for activities of the FSH programs.

10. The Ministry of Finance

a/ To balance finance for the approved FSH programs.

b/ To monitor, supervise and participate in assessment of results of FSH programs.

c/ Customs forces at border gates shall coordinate with the concerned branches in controlling imported foods, supplies in service of agricultural production, fishery, food processing industry according to the provisions of law.

11. The Ministry of Education and Training

a/ To coordinate with the Health Ministry and concerned ministries and branches in organizing the FSH propagation and education among pupils and students, in the school system from kindergartens to universities.

b/ To include the FSH content in the curriculars of all educational levels.

c/ To propagate and mobilize people to raise the hygienic and scientific ways of living; get rid of backward customs and practices.

12. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

To coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in managing sources of wastes which cause environmental pollution and food contamination and ensuring safety for cultivation and husbandry environment as well as the living environment.

13. The Defense Ministry

a/ The Border Guard shall coordinate with the customs forces, concerned local departments and branches in preventing the illegal import of poor quality food and foodstuff across borders.

b/ To coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches in propagation and education to raise the FSH awareness and practice for ethnic minority people in areas where army units station, in deep-lying, remote, border and island regions.

14. The Ministry of Public Security

a/ To coordinate with the Trade Ministry, the Health Ministry and concerned ministries and branches in intensifying the inspection of implementation of the State's regulations on FSH for street food-catering services.

b/ To coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in inspecting the FSH conditions of food-transport means; controlling fake foods, illegally imported foods.

c/ To participate in settling arising incidents regarding food safety and hygiene.

15. The Ministry of Home Affairs

a/ To study and submit to the Government the scheme on consolidation of the system of FSH management, testing or inspection organizations from the central to provincial, municipal and district levels.

b/ To draw up plans to reinforce officials with professional qualifications in FSH management, inspection and testing for concerned ministries and branches.

16. Provincial/municipal People's Committees

a/ To coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in directing the formulation of policies for FSH management in their respective localities and deploying the implementation of FSH programs in localities.

b/ To manage and direct FSH activities in their respective localities throughout the course of production from cultivation, rearing, harvesting, catching, exploitation, slaughtering, processing, preservation and transportation till the delivery of foods to consumers; to manage safety and hygiene of food catering on street pavements, in markets, tourist resorts, festival places.

c/ To direct the propagation, education on legal documents on FSH and guide the implementation thereof. To organize the examination and inspection of implementation of legal provisions on FSH in their respective localities.

d/ To direct provincial/municipal Services, Departments and branches in localities to build areas producing and processing agricultural products and safe food; to build concentrated animal slaughtering houses ensuring hygiene and environmental protection; to build models of community participation in management and supervision of FSH in localities.

17. Socio-political organizations, mass organizations and professional associations are requested to coordinate with concerned ministries and branches as well as administrations at all levels in:

a/ Disseminating FSH knowledge to their members and mobilizing the communities to participate therein.

b/ Deploying specific activities, contributing to ensuring FSH; building models of community-based supervision of FSH at small, scattered food processing establishments; building culture-health villages; building up models of ensuring street food safety and hygiene...

Article 3.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in "CONG BAO."

Article 4.- Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of Government-attached agencies, and presidents of provincial/municipal People's Committees shall have to implement this Decision.