Individuals and organizations that produce and trade food must self-declared prepackaged processed products, food additives, food processing aids, food containers, and packaging materials which directly contact with food (hereinafter collectively referred to as products), except for products exempted from implementation and Article 6 of Decree 15/2018/ND-CP. Products and raw materials for production or import that are only used for the production or processing of exported goods or for the internal production of organizations and individuals that are not consumed in the domestic market are exempted from carrying out the procedures. self-publish the product.
What does the product self-declaration profile include?
Pursuant to Clauses 1 and 3, Article 5 of Decree 15/2018/ND-CP, the product self-declaration dossier includes:
- The self-declaration of products according to Form No. 01, Appendix I issued together with Decree 15/2018/ND-CP;
- The designated testing laboratory or a laboratory accredited in accordance with ISO 17025 issues the food safety test result sheet. This form is valid for 12 months from the date of submission of the application. The Ministry of Health applies the safety criteria according to risk management principles.
- If there is no specific regulation, the organization or individual can announce the safety criteria according to the corresponding regulations and standards. This result sheet can be the original or a certified copy.
Note:
You must present the documents in the self-declaration dossier in Vietnamese. If there are documents in foreign languages, you need to translate them into Vietnamese and have them notarized. The document must be valid at the time of self-disclosure.
Procedures for self-declaration of products:
Decree 15/2018/ND-CP mandates that the self-declaration of products can carry out in the following order.
- Pursuant to Clauses 2 and 4, Article 5 of this Decree;
- Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 1 together with Clause 1, Article 3 of Decree 155/2018/ND-CP.
Organizations or individuals self-publish their products on the mass media or their website. Organizations or individuals can also list publicly at their headquarters. In addition, the product is also published on the Food Safety Data Information System.
How to apply and conditions:
If this System is not available, organizations or individuals need to submit documents by post or directly to the competent state management agency. This is a regulation of the People’s Committee of the province or city directly under the central government. Records should be kept and posted in the name of the organization or individual. And the names of the products are self-proclaimed on the website of the receiving agency. However, if an organization or individual has 02 or more production facilities producing the same product, they only need to submit dossiers at a local state management agency.
Once you have selected a state management agency to submit your application, then the next self-disclosure must submit the application at the agency selected earlier. Immediately after implementation, organizations and individuals can produce and trade products and take full responsibility for the safety of those products.
In the case of organizations or individuals having 02 or more production establishments that produce the same product, then file an application at a local regulatory agency. This agency must be placed where the production facility is selected by the organization or individual. Once having selected a state management agency to submit your application, the next self-disclosure must submit the application at the agency selected earlier.
Note:
In case the product has a change in product name, origin, composition, then organizations and individuals have to self-announce their products. In case of other changes, organizations and individuals shall notify in writing of the changed contents to competent state management agencies and be able to produce and trade products right after sending the notice.
Conclusion:
Overall, in order to self-publish products, businesses need to comply with regulations and processes. At the same time, they need to have complete records and must pass inspections and appraisals. Only when there is a license from the authorities, the product can be announced and accessible to customers.
HMLF is always available to offer assistance in understanding the procedures with authorities.
Harley Miller Law Firm “HMLF”
Head office: 14th floor, HM Town building, 412 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Ward 05, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.
Phone number: +84 937215585
Website: hmlf.vn Email: miller@hmlf.vn
