Chapter II
ASSESSMENT AND CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE OF AGRO-FORESTRY-FISHERY FOOD PRODUCTION AND TRADING BUSINESSES WITH FOOD SAFETY REGULATIONS
Section 1. ASSESSMENT OF AGRO-FORESTRY-FISHERY FOOD PRODUCTION AND TRADING BUSINESSES
Article 12. Statistics of and update on the list of agro-forestry-fishery food production and trading businesses
On a quarterly basis, the assessment body shall make a statistics of and update on the list of agro-forestry-fishery food production and trading businesses under its assigned duties or delegated authority as prescribed in Article 5 herein by using the form given in the Appendix I hereto. The list shall serve as a basis for the assessment body's carrying out the assessment and ranking of requirements for compliance with food safety regulations and the unscheduled inspection in case of any food safety emergency.
Article 13. Establishment of the Assessment Team
1. The Heads of the assessment bodies prescribed in Article 5 herein shall be vested with authority to issue decisions on establishment of assessment teams. The decision on establishment of an assessment team shall be comprised of the following information:
a) Bases for carrying out the assessment;
b) Assessment scope, contents and forms;
c) Name and address of the assessed business;
d) Full name and title of the Head and Members of the Assessment Team;
dd) Responsibilities of the assessed business and the Assessment Team.
2. In case of assessment of businesses manufacturing and trading multiple groups of agro-forestry-fishery food products, the Head of the assessment body assigned to preside over assessment activities shall be responsible for informing related cooperating bodies to request them to assign their staff to participate in the Assessment Team.
Article 14. On-site assessment
1. The assessment body shall inform the proposed time of assessment based on which the rank of the assessed business is determined 05 working days prior to the assessment.
2. The Assessment Team shall release its establishment decision and clearly state the assessment contents.
3. Carrying out the physical assessment: Checking and verifying documents, materials and actual conditions of facilities, equipment and human resources involved in production and trading activities; conducting interviews and carrying out sampling where necessary as provided in clause 1 of Article 7 herein.
4. Preparing the assessment report and informing the assessment results.
5. In case of discovering that the assessed business commits administrative violations, the Assessment Team shall issue a notice of administrative violation and submit it to the competent person to seek his/her administrative penalty decision in accordance with laws.
Article 15. Assessment report
1. The assessment report shall be prepared using the form given in Appendix II and II hereto.
2. Requirements of an assessment report:
a) Must be prepared by the Assessment Team at the assessed business immediately after completion of the assessment;
b) Fully and accurately represent the assessment results;
c) Clarify which items fail to conform to food safety requirements and the deadline for taking remedial actions to correct defects;
d) Draw general conclusions on requirements for compliance with food safety regulations and predict the rank of the assessed business;
dd) Give comments of the assessed business’ authorized representative on the assessment results and commitments to correcting defects (if any);
e) Carry the signature of the Leader of the Assessment Team, the signature of the assessed business’ authorized representative, show the adjoining stamp of the assessed business (if any) in the assessment report or sign on each page of the assessment report in case the assessed business does not have its registered stamp;
g) In case where the assessed business' authorized representative refuses to sign the assessment report, the Assessment Team must write: “The assessed business’ representative has not signed the report” and clearly explain the reasons for such refusal. The assessment report shall have legal value if it bears signatures of all of members of the Assessment Team;
h) The report shall be made into 02 copies, including 01 copy deposited with the assessment body, 01 copy deposited with the assessed business; where necessary, the number of copies may be increased.
Article 16. Processing of assessment results
After checking the assessment report submitted by the Assessment Team (where necessary, the on-site physical checking may be carried out), within duration of 07 working days after completion of such checking, the assessment body shall perform the following tasks:
1. As for the assessment carried out for ranking purposes
a) Grant the recognition and inform the assessment results to rank-A or B businesses. As for businesses involved in a variety of goods industries and sectors, the frequency rate of assessment serving periodic evaluation purposes shall be determined by the goods industry or sector holding the lowest rank.
b) Inform penalties for food safety violations in accordance with laws to the rank-C business, request its action to correct defects, inform the deadline for correction of defects and carry out the re-assessment.
2. As for the assessment carried out for periodic evaluation purposes
a) If the assessed business is ranked down to B, informing the assessed business of this and the frequency rate of assessment applied in the next time.
b) If the assessed business is ranked down to C, informing penalties for food safety violations in accordance with laws to this business, requesting its action to correct defects, informing the deadline for correction of defects and carrying out the re-assessment.
3. Granting certificates of compliance with food safety regulations to agro-forestry-fishery food production and trading businesses ranked A or B as prescribed in Article 17 herein.
4. If the test results show that the assessed product violates food safety regulations, the assessment body shall appeal to the competent regulatory authority to impose sanction according to law.
5. The assessment body shall refuse to confer rank-A or rank-B to the assessed business that receives the test results indicating violations against food safety regulations. The decision on whether the recognition of rank A or B is granted shall be issued immediately after the assessed business carries out investigation into causes and take remedial actions, and is assessed by the assessment body to meet requirements for compliance with food safety regulations.
6. The assessment body shall publish businesses meeting or having yet to meet requirements for compliance with food safety regulations via mass media.
Section 2. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE OF AGRO-FORESTRY-FISHERY FOOD PRODUCTION AND TRADING BUSINESSES WITH FOOD SAFETY REGULATIONS
Article 17. Processes, procedures, re-issuance and revocation of certificates of compliance with food safety regulations (hereinafter referred to as food safety certificates)
1. The body having authority to grant food safety certificates must be the assessment body referred to in Article 5 herein according to the principles wherein the body carrying out the assessment of requirements for compliance with food safety regulations of an agro-forestry-fishery food production and trading business is entitled to grant the food safety certificate to that business.
2. Each food safety certificate shall be valid for 3 years. The sample certificate is given in the Appendix IV hereto.
3. Application documentation for food safety certificates shall be comprised of the followings:
a) Application form for food safety certificate, prepared by using the form given in Appendix V hereto;
b) Interpretation of requirements for compliance with food safety regulations of the applicant business, prepared by using the form given in Appendix VI hereto.
4. Processes and procedures for grant of food safety certificates
a) The applicant business submits one set of application documents for food safety certificate to the body having authority to grant food safety certificates as provided in clause 1 of Article 17 herein. The application documentation may be submitted according to one of the following methods: directly, via fax, email or electronic networks (then the original set of these documents must be sent along); by post;
b) Within 03 working days of receipt of application documentation from the applicant business, the body having authority to grant food safety certificates must confirm the adequacy of these submitted documents and inform the applicant business in writing in case their application documents are not sufficient;
c) From the date of receipt of all required documents, the body having authority to grant food safety certificates shall check and verify these submitted documents, rank the applicant business and confer food safety certificates within 07 working days (if the applicant business has been assessed and ranked A or B); conduct the on-site physical assessment of conditions for conformance to requirements for compliance with food safety regulations at the workplace of the applicant business and grant food safety certificates within duration of 15 working days (in case the applicant business has not yet been assessed and ranked). In case of refusal to grant the food safety certificate, they must send a written response clearly stating reasons for such refusal.
5. Re-issue of food safety certificates
a) 6 months before a food safety certificate expires, the business holding this certificate must submit application documentation for re-issue of their certificate if they wish to continue their business activities. Re-issue of food safety certificates shall be subject to regulations laid down in clause 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article;
b) In case the food safety certificate remains unexpired but has been lost, damaged, revised or supplemented in terms of information inscribed on food safety certificates, the business must submit the application for re-issue of the food safety certificate by using the form given in Appendix V hereto to the body having authority to grant food safety certificates for its consideration of re-issue thereof.
Within duration of 05 working days of receipt of the application form for re-issue, the body having authority to grant food safety certificates shall check and verify the submitted documentation, and consider re-issuing the food safety certificate. The expiry date of the food safety certificate which is re-issued must coincide with that of the preexisting certificate. In case of refusal to reissue the certificate, the body having authority to re-issue the food safety certificate must issue the written notice clearly stating reasons.
6. Revocation of food safety certificates
a) Food safety certificates of agro-forestry-fishery food production and trading businesses shall be revoked if these businesses fail to meet requirements prescribed in clause 1 of Article 34 in the Law on Food Safety;
b) Authority to revoke food safety certificates
The body having authority to grant food safety certificates shall be authorized to revoke food safety certificates.
7. In case where there are particular regulations on processes and procedures for issue and re-issue of food safety certificates to agro-forestry-fishery food production and trading businesses having particular characteristics, and revocation thereof, these regulations shall apply.
Article 18. Grant of certificates of food safety knowledge to business owners and persons directly manufacturing and trading agro-forestry-fishery food products (hereinafter referred to as food safety knowledge certificate)
1. The body granting food safety knowledge certificates must be the competent bodies prescribed in Article 5 herein according to the principles wherein the body granting food safety certificates is entitled to grant food safety knowledge certificates. The body granting food safety knowledge certificates shall be entitled to assign tasks of and delegate authority over grant of certificates to its affiliates under laws.
2. Persons awarded food safety knowledge certificates
a) Business owners: The business owner or the person hired or authorized by the business owner to directly manage agro-forestry-fishery food business activities;
b) Persons directly involved in business activities: Persons directly involved in stages of manufacturing and trading of agro-forestry-fishery food products at businesses.
3. Persons granted exemption from grant of food safety knowledge certificates: Business owners or persons directly involved in manufacturing and trading agro-forestry-fishery food products must hold suitable educational qualifications in business sectors or industries at the intermediate level or higher and must have taken food safety training programs. Businesses must deposit certified true copies of degrees or professional diplomas and duplicate copies of training courses that these eligible persons have taken.
4. Documentation requirements for grant of food safety knowledge certificates, processes for certification and management of food safety knowledge certificates shall be subject to Article 10, Article 11 and Article 12 in the Joint Circular No. 13/2014/TTLT-BYT-BNNPTNT-BCT dated April 9, 2014 of the Ministry of Health - the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development - the Ministry of Industry and Trade on providing guidance on assignment of tasks of and cooperation in the state management of food safety.
5. The assessment and evaluation test on food safety knowledge shall be carried out by using a set of 30 multiple-choice questions, including 20 questions about general knowledge and 10 questions about specialized knowledge, and shall be conducted for the duration of 45 minutes.
6. Materials on food safety knowledge and the set of questions used for assessment of food safety knowledge shall be designed, published or submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to seek its approval of release thereof by the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department.
Tìm kiếm
Thông tư 38/2018/TT-BNNPTNT quy định về thẩm định, chứng nhận cơ sở sản xuất, kinh doanh thực phẩm nông, lâm, thủy sản đủ điều kiện an toàn thực phẩm thuộc phạm vi quản lý của Bộ Nông nghiệp và Phát triển nông thôn (Bản Word)
