Postpone implementation of Decree 46 on food safety

The Government has just issued Resolution 15 dated April 6 to postpone the implementation of Decree 46 and Resolution 66 on food announcement and registration until the Food Safety Law (amended) and new guiding documents take effect.

During the suspension of the above two documents, Decree 15/2018 of the Government regulating a number of articles of the Food Safety Law and guiding documents continues to be in effect. Documents submitted before the effective date of this Resolution will continue to be processed according to Decree 15/2018.

The Ministries of Health, Industry and Trade, Agriculture and Environment are assigned to guide implementation according to management fields. They must also review the 2010 Food Safety Law to propose amendments.

Relevant agencies complete connection and data sharing with the National Public Service Portal to unify data from central to local levels. These agencies must increase the application of artificial intelligence in food product management to increase monitoring, traceability, and early detection of risks.

In addition, the Government also requires the Ministry of Health to check the announcement, advertising and production conditions of health protection foods. The Ministry of Industry and Trade monitors business and handles fake food, smuggled goods and fraud on e-commerce. The Ministry of Science and Technology manages accreditation activities, testing laboratories and perfecting food standards. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism manages food advertising activities.

Decree 46 and Resolution 66 guide the implementation of the Food Safety Law, effective from January 26. The new regulations pose many stricter management requirements, especially for imported foods, health protection foods and state inspection activities on food safety. However, the lack of guiding documents causes the import of food and input materials for food production to become congested nationwide.

At the end of January, thousands of cargo containers were “blocked” at border gates and seaports due to problems implementing these regulations. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment at a regular press conference on February 5, in 4 days (January 26 – January 29), over 700 imported shipments, equivalent to about 300,000 tons, were stuck at border gates and ports. The affected products are mainly fresh agricultural products, semi-processed products of plant origin such as vegetables, tubers, fruits, rice, rice, cassava, and some processed and pre-packaged foods.

More than a week later, the Government agreed to postpone the implementation of both documents until April 15. During this time, food safety regulations for imported food and agricultural products comply with the old regulations (Decree 15).

The revised Food Safety Law is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly at the next October session. After that, guiding decrees will be issued. At the conference in early February, many associations proposed to abolish Decree 46 and Resolution 66 while waiting for new laws. Regarding the upcoming amendments to laws and regulations, experts also believe that management agencies should only introduce new procedures when they can prove to be effective in improving food safety and do not disrupt production and business, as well as being consulted to fully assess the impact.