Towards a more comprehensive and effective legal framework

Passed by the 12th National Assembly on June 17, 2010 and effective from July 1, 2011, the Food Safety Law has created an important legal foundation for food safety management activities in Vietnam.

During its implementation, the Law has actively contributed to creating a legal corridor for food business activities both domestically and internationally. However, after 12 years of implementation, many provisions of the Law have revealed shortcomings, no longer suitable for current socio -economic conditions and requirements of food safety management.

One of the points that is no longer appropriate is the regulation on granting conformity certificates and declarations of conformity for food products. In the period 2010-2017, the number of food products is large while the number of National Technical Regulations is limited, causing difficulties in applying these regulations. In particular, the management of small-scale production households is not really effective, although this group provides a significant amount of food for society and has a high potential risk of food poisoning and food-borne diseases.

The current law lacks many important management regulations. Specifically, the regulations on food safety indicators for foods of plant origin are not complete and consistent. The decentralization in food poisoning investigations is unclear, while the regulations on the revocation of Certificates of Conformity/Registration of Product Declarations are lacking. Notably, many localities have not issued technical regulations on the quality of clean water for domestic use, and there are also lacks standards for local traditional products.

The lack of uniformity in management among sectors is also a major challenge. The three main sectors, Health, Agriculture & Rural Development and Industry and Trade, have different approaches to food safety management. For example, while the Agriculture and Industry and Trade sectors apply the form of signing a commitment to ensure food safety, the Health sector does not implement this method. The management of business types such as restaurants in hotels, collective kitchens and markets is also not consistent among sectors.

Conceptually, the Law lacks clear definitions of many important terms. Concepts such as "small-scale food production and trading" and "prepackaged processed food" are not fully defined. Furthermore, there is inconsistency between the Food Safety Law and other laws such as the Enterprise Law 2020 on basic concepts such as "food production" and "food trading".

Regulations on administrative procedures also need to be reviewed. Currently, the regulation on the time limit for reissuing a certificate of food safety eligibility (6 months before the certificate expires) is considered too long, causing difficulties for businesses. In addition, the lack of clear regulations on authority and responsibility in food safety training also affects the effectiveness of law enforcement.

Faced with these challenges, the Ministry of Health is proposing to develop a revised Law on Food Safety. The goal is to complete the legal framework, ensure consistency and efficiency in food safety management, and meet the requirements of international integration. This revision will focus on clarifying concepts, unifying management processes between sectors, and creating more favorable conditions for businesses to comply with food safety regulations.

With these changes, it is expected that the revised Law on Food Safety will create a more comprehensive and effective legal framework, contributing to protecting consumer health and promoting sustainable development of the food industry.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/huong-toi-khung-phap-ly-toan-dien-va-hieu-qua-hon.html