Product Announcement - Guidelines for Self-Declaration under Order in Council 15/2018/ND-CP.
- 23-02-2022
This decree includes the following contents: procedures for self-declaration of products; procedures for registration of product announcements; ensuring food safety for genetically modified organisms; issue the Certificate of satisfaction of food safety conditions; State inspection of imported and exported food safety; food labeling; food advertising; conditions for ensuring food safety in the production of food for health protection; conditions for ensuring food safety in the production, trading and use of food additives; traceability of food; assigning responsibility for state management of food safety.
1.A new feature in the decree is that enterprises are allowed to self-declare their products and take responsibility before the law for that announcement, instead of sending publication documents to state agencies for confirmation, except for some products. Products must be announced to the Ministry of Health and Department of health. Specifically, health foods and mixed food additives with new uses will be registered for publication at the Food Safety Department, Ministry of Health; nutritional products for children up to 36 months old, enterprises register their announcement at the local Department of Health; The remaining products are self-announced by enterprises according to the instructions.
2.The next new point in the decree is to change production regulations and business conditions to ensure food security. That is to expand the range of businesses that do not need a certificate of food safety eligibility as well as to expand the audience and establishments that are exempt from the issuance of certificates of food safety eligibility. Specifically, establishments that are not eligible for the Certificate of food safety eligibility include: small initial production; food production and business without a fixed location; small preliminary processing; retail food business; trade- in prepackaged foods; manufacturing and trading in tools, packaging materials, food containers; restaurant in the hotel; collective kitchen without registration of food business; street food business; the establishment has been granted one of the valid GMP, HACCP, ISO 22000, IFS, BRC, FSSC 22000 or equivalent Certificates.
3.This decree also specifically stipulates that foods that must be registered for content before advertising are health foods, medical nutrition foods, foods for special diets; nutritional products for children up to 36 months old are not banned from advertising as prescribed in Article 7 of the Law on Advertising.
4.Regarding the assignment of responsibilities for state management of food safety, the decree assigned the management responsibilities of 3 sectors including Health, Industry and Trade, Agriculture and Rural Development, ensuring the one-stop-shop principle, a product, a production or business establishment is only under the management of a state management agency, specifically:
- For establishments producing many types of food under the management competence of 2 or more specialized management agencies, the product management agency with the largest output in the production establishment's products is the agency responsible for the management of products.
- For establishments that do not carry out the production stage but trade in a variety of food products under the management of 2 or more specialized management agencies managed by the Industry and Trade sector, except for the case of a wholesale market Auction of agricultural products.
- For establishments that both produce and trade in many types of products under the management of two or more specialized management agencies, organizations and individuals have the right to choose a specialized management agency in charge of food safety to perform administrative processes.
