Ministry of Agriculture and Environment officially tightens control over exported durian

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has issued a food safety control process for exported fresh durian.

Accordingly, this process applies to the entire fresh durian production chain from cultivation, harvesting, transportation, preservation, packaging and export.

For growing areas and growing facilities, the requirements are to meet food safety conditions, be granted a growing area code and fully comply with regulations on traceability. Facilities are inspected for food safety and hygiene at a frequency of no more than once a year for facilities that have been granted one of the certificates such as GAP, ISO 22000. Growing facilities must also sign a commitment to produce and trade safe food.

Fresh durian must meet domestic standards before being exported. Photo: Phong Linh

Export durian packaging facilities must also be assessed, certified to meet food safety conditions, be given a code number, and meet requirements for traceability, recall, and handling of unsafe products. Commercial traders must register their food business lines, perform traceability, recall, and handle unsafe fresh durian products.

In addition to clearly defining the responsibilities and conditions for each link in the chain, the new process also sets out requirements for testing facilities. Accordingly, testing facilities will organize sampling and testing of food safety indicators according to the requirements of competent authorities, to serve the inspection and issuance of state certificates on food safety for shipments in case of request from competent authorities of the import market.

For exported fresh durian products, in addition to meeting domestic regulations, the product must also fully comply with labeling regulations, meet heavy metal residue standards as prescribed, pesticide residue standards and relevant regulations on the list of standards and food safety limits for durian products of the corresponding import market.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment also assigned specific tasks to the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development, the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, and the Departments of Agriculture and Environment of provinces and cities on professional training, updating market requirements, guiding inspections, and disseminating new standards.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/bo-nong-nghiep-va-moi-truong-chinh-thuc-siet-kiem-soat-sau-rieng-xuat-khau-3369945.html