Chương IV Thông tư 43/2018/TT-BCT: Thu hồi và xử lý đối với thực phẩm không bảo đảm an toàn

Chapter IV

RECALL AND DISPOSAL OF DISQUALIFIED FOODS

Article 15. Power to recall food products

1. Disqualified food products must be voluntarily or mandatorily recalled and disposed in accordance with Article 55 of the Law on food safety.

2. Power to mandatorily recall foods:

a) Authorities receiving self-declaration documents or applications for registration of the product declaration as appointed by Provincial People's Committees;

b) Regulatory authorities that have the power to impose penalties for administrative violations shall have the right to enforce recall of food products in accordance with the Government's Decree No. 115/2018/ND-CP dated September 04, 2018.

Article 16. Procedures for voluntary recall

1. Within 24 hours after the discovery or receipt of feedback about safety issues of food products and it is concluded that the food products have to be recalled, the product owner shall:

a) Notify the recall by telephone, email or other appropriate forms, and then give written notification to all members of the production and distribution system (including factories, distributors, agencies and stores) in order to request them to suspend the production and distribution of products as well as carry out the recall of products;

b) Give written notification to provincial mass media agencies and other relevant authorities and organizations as regulated in the Law on protection of consumer rights; If the recall involves more than one province, central-level mass media agencies must be notified in writing in order to publish the recall-related information to consumers;

c) Give written notification of the recall to food safety authorities;

d) The written notification of the recall must include the following information: Name and address of the product owner and of the manufacturer, product’s name, packaging specifications, batch number, date of manufacture, expiration date, quantity, reasons for recall, list of locations receiving recalled products, and recall duration.

2. Within a maximum period of 03 days from the completion of the recall, the product owner must submit a report on the recall of products, which is made according to the Form No. 06a provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith, and must specify measures for disposal of recalled products, to food safety authorities.

Article 17. Procedures for mandatory recall

1. Within 24 hours after it is concluded that the food products are subject to the mandatory recall, the authority that has the power to issue a recall decision as regulated in Clause 2 Article 18 hereof shall issue a recall decision made according to the Form No. 06b provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

2. Upon the receipt of the recall decision, the product owner must carry out the procedures specified in Clause 1 Article 19 hereof.

3. Within 03 days from the completion of the recall, the product owner must submit a report on the recall of products, which is made according to the Form No. 06a provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith, and must specify measures for disposal of recalled products, to food safety authorities.

4. After issuing a recall decision, authorities competent to impose penalties for administrative violations against regulations on food safety must supervise the recall of products and notify food safety authorities and relevant authorities for cooperation.

Article 18. Procedures for recall in serious cases or an emergency

1. In case a product owner fails to carry out the recall or conducts the recall inconsistently with the mandatory recall decision issued by a competent authority or in another case of emergency as regulated in Point d Clause 5 Article 55 of the Law on food safety, the competent authority shall issue a decision to enforce and organize the recall. A decision on enforced recall of food products must specify the name of the authority or organization responsible for that enforcement, the name of the authority or organization supervising or witnessing the enforced recall of products, the time limit for completion of the enforced recall, and measures for disposal of recalled products.

2. Upon the completion of the recall and disposal of recalled products, the authority carrying out the recall and disposal of recalled products shall give a written notification requesting the product owner to pay expenses arising during the recall.

3. The product owner shall pay expenses for recall and disposal of recalled products (if any) within 15 days from the receipt of a written notification from the authority responsible for such recall.

Article 19. Measures for disposing of recalled products

1. Disqualified food products recalled shall be disposed of as follows:

a) Correction of label error: The product label is unconformable with the label description provided in the self-declaration documents or the application for registration of the product declaration;

b) Repurposing: Disqualified foods to be recalled may threaten the consumer health, are not conformable with foods purposes but may be used to serve other purposes;

C) Re-exporting: Imported food products have quality or safety indicators unconformable with the self-declaration documents of the application for registration of the product declaration or may threaten the consumer health;

d) Destruction: Food products have quality or safety indicators unconformable with the self-declaration documents of the application for registration of the product declaration, threaten the consumer health, and cannot be repurposed or re-exported as regulated in Point b or Point c Clause 1 of this Article and in other necessary cases as prescribed in Article 18 hereof.

2. If food products are recalled in accordance with provisions in Article 16 hereof, the product owner shall himself/herself select an appropriate measure for disposing of recalled products in accordance with regulations in Clause 1 hereof.

3. If food products are recalled in accordance with provisions in Article 17 hereof, within 03 business days from the receipt of the report on the recall of disqualified products, the competent authority issuing the recall decision must give a written approval for the measure for disposing of recalled products proposed by the product owner. If the competent authority disagrees with the measure for disposing of recalled products proposed by the product owner, it must give a written response indicating reasons thereof and another measure for disposing of recalled products to the product owner.

Article 20. Reports on disposing of recalled products

1. The product owner must complete the disposal of food products recalled according to a mandatory recall decision issued by a competent authority within 03 months from the receipt of the competent authority's written approval for the measure for disposing of recalled products proposed by the product owner.

2. Correction of label error:

a) Voluntary recall: Upon the completion of the correction of label error, the product owner must give a written notification which specifies the product’s name and quantity, and the sample of the product with correct label, to the food safety authority. After sending a written notification to the food safety authority as regulated, the product owner may continue distributing food products;

b) Mandatory recall: Upon the completion of the correction of label error, the product owner must give a written notification, which specifies the product’s name and quantity, and the sample of the food product with correct label, to the authority issuing the recall decision. Within 03 business days from the receipt of the notification from the product owner, the authority issuing the recall decision shall give a written approval for the distribution of food products; in case of disapproval, reasons for disapproval must be given in writing. Upon the receipt of the written approval for the distribution of food products whose label has been corrected as regulated from the authority issuing the recall decision, the product owner must notify the food safety authority in writing of such approval. The product owner shall continue distributing food products after obtaining an approval from the authority issuing the recall decision.

3. Repurposing:

Within 05 working days from the completion of the repurposing of recalled food products, the product owner must submit a report on the repurposing, which indicates the name and quantity of the product to be repurposed, repurposing duration, new purposes, and must be accompanied by the contract and invoices proving transactions between the product owner and the product buyer, to the food safety authority or the authority issuing the recall decision. The buyer may only use purchased food products for the purposes defined in the contract signed with the product owner after reporting the food safety authority.

4. Re-exporting:

Within 05 business days from the completion of the re-exporting of products, the product owner must submit a written report on the re-exporting, which must indicate the name and quantity of the product to be re-exported, the country of origin, re-exporting time, and be accompanied by re-exporting documents, to the food safety authority and the authority issuing the recall decision.

5. Destruction:

Within 05 business days from the completion of the destruction of recalled food products, the product owner must submit a written report on the destruction, which must indicate the name and quantity of the product to be destroyed, time and location of destruction, and be accompanied with the destruction record certified by the authority in charge of organizing the destruction, to the food safety authority or to the authority issuing the recall decision.