Strong decentralization to the commune level, coupled with inspection, supervision, and handling of violations.

(PLVN) - Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra recently chaired a meeting with ministries and agencies on the draft plan to improve the state management apparatus for food safety, aiming for a unified single point of contact from the central to local levels.

Strengthening the organizational structure for food safety management is necessary.

Currently, Vietnam's state management system for food safety is organized according to a model of division of labor among three ministries: the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Each ministry is assigned responsibility for managing specific food product sectors. Specifically, the Ministry of Health manages 6 sectors, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment manages 19 sectors, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade manages 8 sectors. For each assigned sector, the ministries are responsible for managing the entire food supply chain, including: initial production, preliminary processing, processing, preservation, transportation, distribution, and sales; and simultaneously building a vertical system of food safety management from the central to local levels.

At the local level, People's Committees at all levels perform the state management functions regarding food safety assigned by the Government and according to the decentralization of specialized ministries. In addition, the Ministry of Science and Technology performs state management functions regarding standards, technical regulations, measurement, product and goods quality, and conformity assessment activities for food; but does not directly carry out specialized management of food safety.

With the model of assigning state management responsibilities for food safety based on specific product categories, coordination among state food safety management agencies remains limited, leading to overlapping responsibilities, lack of synchronization, and even ambiguity in defining management responsibilities in some cases where the food supply chain involves the management of multiple ministries and sectors.

At the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra emphasized that the project needs to clarify the necessity of improving the state management apparatus for food safety. Protecting the health and lives of the people must be prioritized, and this is also an objective requirement to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of state management, meeting the requirements of national development and international integration in the new period.

The Deputy Prime Minister stated that current practices necessitate a frank assessment of the limitations of the existing management mechanism, such as fragmentation, overlap, and even unclear responsibilities. Therefore, streamlining the organizational structure is necessary to clearly define functions, tasks, and management methods, while also providing a foundation for further improving the institutional and policy framework for food safety.

Promoting the role of self-governing models in ensuring food safety.

Emphasizing the overarching principle of the project, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that perfecting the organizational structure must be placed within the overall context of reforming the political system, ensuring a streamlined, efficient, effective, and effective operation. The unification under a single authority aims to assign one agency primary responsibility for advising, coordinating, and implementing the project; however, relevant ministries and agencies must still fully perform their functions and duties within their jurisdiction. “The Ministry of Health is the primary agency responsible, but other ministries and agencies must still fully fulfill their responsibilities according to their assigned functions and duties,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

The Ho Chi Minh City People's Council conducts a survey on food safety management at Binh Dien wholesale market (Photo: Minh Xuan)

The Deputy Prime Minister also gave his opinion on strengthening the Food Safety Management Department under the Ministry of Health by incorporating additional functions, tasks, and personnel from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the Ministry of Industry and Trade; and at the same time, guiding the improvement of the organizational model at the provincial and commune levels, ensuring there is a focal agency responsible, along with appropriate coordination mechanisms and human resources at all levels.

One of the key principles emphasized by the Deputy Prime Minister is strong decentralization to local authorities, especially at the commune level, coupled with inspection, supervision, and handling of administrative violations. Food safety management plays a crucial role at the grassroots level; it is where people, producers, businesses, and daily consumers are directly involved. Therefore, it is necessary to deploy appropriate specialized forces and strengthen the responsibility of local authorities.

In addition, it is necessary to promote the role of self-governing models in residential communities, especially villages and neighborhoods, to support monitoring, detect violations, and raise awareness of compliance with food safety regulations.

The Deputy Prime Minister also requested clarification on the resources for implementing the project, the positions of specialized food safety officers at the commune level; and clearly defined the responsibilities of each Ministry and sector in developing standards and regulations, inspecting, monitoring, and ensuring the conditions for implementation.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/phan-cap-manh-cho-cap-xa-gan-voi-kiem-tra-giam-sat-xu-ly-vi-pham.html