Chương III Thông tư 17/2021/TT-BNNPTNT: Thu hồi và xử lý thực phẩm không bảo đảm an toàn

Chapter III

RECALL AND HANDLING OF UNSAFE FOOD

Article 8. General requirements for recalling unsafe food

1. Any facility prescribed in Clause 1 Article 2 of this Circular shall establishment its unsafe food (outgoing consignment) recall procedures including the following contents:

a) Develop food recall plans (schemes) according to its actual activities of product production, trading, and distribution;

b) Test the plans; evaluate their effectiveness; revise, supplement, and approve food recall plans for them to take effect;

c) Annually or irregularly inspect, evaluate the effectiveness of the approved food recall plan.

2. Procedures for recall and handling of food:

a) Receive the recall and/or handling request;

b) Evaluate the necessity of the recall and handling;

c) Make a recall plan (according to the approved and effective sample plan) and present it to the head of the facility for consideration for approval;

d) Implement the recall according to the approved plan;

dd) Apply measures for handling unsafe food according to Article 13 of this Circular;

e) Make a report on the recall result and how to handle the recalled consignment, and store documents. If the recall affects facilities in the chain of food production and trading, make and send a report to the competent authority;

g) If the recalled consignment has already been distributed and consumed on a large scale, recall it as quickly as possible in order to minimize risks to consumers’ health and lives. If the recalling facility does not have the ability to handle or recall all of the unsafe food, make and send a report to the competent authority for support.

Article 9. Manners of unsafe food recall

A facility shall recall unsafe food prescribed in Clause 1 Article 55 of the Law on Food Safety in one of the following manners:

1. A voluntary recall means a food recall self-executed by a facility when any abnormal thing is discovered or when it receives complaints from other organizations or individuals about unsafe food and it is not any of the cases prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. A compulsory recall means an unsafe food recall conducted according to a recall decision by a competent authority prescribed in Articles 15, 16, 17 of this Circular or a recall in accordance with the law on administrative penalties for violations regulations on food safety.

Article 10. Procedures for voluntary recall

1. Within 24 hours from the moment of discovery or receipt of unsafe food complaints and it is determined that a recall is necessary, the facility shall:

a) Notify by phone, email or other appropriate methods, then officially notify the entire production and trading system in writing (production facilities, distribution facilities, agents, stores) to stop the production and trading of food subject to recall and carry out the food recall;

b) Send written notifications to the mass communication agencies of the province or city and related agencies, organizations according to regulations of the law on consumer protection. If the recall is conducted in at least two provinces and/or cities, notify central mass communication agencies in writing in order to inform consumers about the recalled food;

c) Notify the food recall in writing to the food safety authority;

d) Provide the following information in the written notification of the owner of the facility: name, production facility address; food name; packaging specifications, batch number, production date, and expiry date; quantity, food recall cause; a list of gathering, receiving places of recalled food; recall time.

2. Within 3 days from the date of recall completion, the owner of the facility shall make and send a report on the food recall result to the food safety authority according to the form prescribed in Appendix I promulgated with this Circular and the method for handling of recalled food.

Article 11. Procedures for compulsory recall

1. Within a maximum time of 24 hours from the moment of determination of food subject to recall, the competent authority prescribed in Clause 2 Article 9 of this Circular shall issue a recall decision according to the form prescribed in Appendix II promulgated with this Circular.

2. Right after receiving a recall decision, the owner of the facility shall comply with regulations prescribed in Clause 1 Article 10 of this Circular.

3. Within 3 working days from the date of compulsory recall completion, the owner of the facility shall make and report the food recall result to the competent authority that issued the recall decision according to the form prescribed in Appendix I promulgated with this Circular and propose methods for handling of recalled food.

4. The competent authority that issues the food recall decision shall supervise its implementation and inform the food safety authority, related agencies for cooperation.

Article 12. Recall procedures for serious or emergency food safety incidents

1. A competent authority shall issue a coercive recall decision in case the owner of the facility still does not comply with the recall decision of the competent authority by the deadline in accordance with regulations prescribed in Clause 4 Article 55 of the Law on Food Safety.

2. A coercive recall decision issued by a competent authority shall specify the agency or organization that conducts the coercion, the agency or organization that supervises or witnesses the coercion, the time of coercion, and handling of the recalled food.

3. If the food has the potential to seriously affect the health of the community or other emergency cases, the competent authority shall directly organize the recall, food handling in accordance with regulations prescribed in Point d Clause 5 Article 55 of the Law on Food Safety.

4. After the completion of the recall and handling of unsafe food, the competent authority that recalls and handles food after recalls shall notify writing to request the owner of the facility to pay the cost for food recalls.

5. An owner of a facility shall pay the cost for food recall and handling (if any) after receiving a notification in writing from a competent authority.

Article 13. Methods for handling of recalled food

1. Product reconditioning, label correction:

a) Reconditioning: apply to cases where food products can be reconditioned with technical measures for food safety assurance;

b) Label correction: apply to cases where food products are not labeled as per regulation.

2. Repurposing: apply to cases where the food is unsafe, harmful to health, and unusable but can be used for other purposes after appropriate treatments.

3. Re-export: apply to cases where the imported goods are unsafe and subject to re-export in accordance with regulations of the law.

4. Destruction: apply to cases where food products have inappropriate safety limits compared to what stated in the self-declared document, technical standards, food safety regulations, which cause harmful effects to consumers’ health; are unable to be repurposed or re-exported according to regulations prescribed in Clause 2, Clause 3 of this Article and other emergency cases prescribed in Article 12 of this Circular.

5. When products are recalled according to Article 10 of this Circular, the owner of the facility shall select one of the methods specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this Article.

6. When products are recalled according to Article 11 of this Circular, within 3 working days from the date of receipt of the report of product recall results, the authority that issued the recall decision shall consider issuing a written approval for the methods for handling of recalled products proposed by the owner of the facility. If the proposed handling methods are rejected, respond and provide explanations in writing and impose other handling methods for the owner to apply.

Article 14. Report on results of handling of unsafe food after recalls

1. The handling of food after recalls according to a compulsory recall decision issued by a competent authority shall be completed within 3 months from the date the competent authority issues the written approval for the handling methods of the owner of the facility.

2. With regard to product reconditioning, label correction:

a) In case of a voluntary recall: After the product reconditioning and label correction are done, the owner of a facility shall notify in writing in which specifies the name, quantity, and evidence indicating that the errors have been fixed to the food safety authority. After sending the notification, the owner shall be allowed to circulate the food;

b) In case of a compulsory recall: After the product reconditioning and label correction are done, the owner of a facility shall notify in writing in which specifies the name, quantity, evidence indicating that the errors have been fixed to the competent authority that issued the recall decision. Within 3 working days from the date of receipt of the owner’s report, the competent authority that issued the recall decision shall decide whether to issue a written approval for the circulation of the products or reject it and provide explanations in writing. The owner of a facility may only circulate the food when he/she receives the written approval of the competent authority that issued the recall decision.

3. With regard to repurposing:

After completing the repurposing, the owner shall report in writing on changes of food uses in which specifies the name, quantity, time, the new purposes, and evidence of changes to a food safety authority or the authority that issued the recall decision. The party that buys the unsafe food may only use it for the purposes reported to the food safety authority and specified in the contract.

4. With regard to re-export:

After completing the re-export, the owner of a facility shall report in writing on food re-export in which specifies the name, quantity, country of origin, re-export evidence to a food safety authority, and the authority that issued the recall decision.

5. With regard to destruction:

After completing the food destruction, the owner of a facility shall report in writing on food destruction in which specifies the name, quantity, time of completion, place of destruction, and attach a food destruction document certified by the organization that conducted the destruction to a food safety authority, and the authority that issued the recall decision.