The food safety inspection for goods of plant origin imported into Vietnam by method of normal inspection.

The food safety inspection for goods of plant origin imported into Vietnam by method of normal inspection is guided under Circular No.12/2015/TT-BNNPTNT dated March 16, 2015 of the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on guidance on the food safety inspection for imported goods of plant origin (hereinafter referred to as Circular 12) being effective on 5 May,2015.

The food safety inspection for goods of plant origin imported into Vietnam by method of normal inspection.

Three steps of the food safety inspection for goods of plant origin imported into Vietnam by method of normal inspection, include:

Step 1: Registration of the exporting country

 a)Competent bodies on Food Safety for food-use goods of plant origin in the exporting countries shall complete and submit documents for registration according to the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) for review and approval for meeting Vietnam requirement on food safety; and add to the list of registered countries allowed for export of goods of plant origin to Vietnam.
b)Procedures on registration, verification and approval for meeting Vietnamese requirements on food safety and adding to the list of registered countries allowed for export of goods of plant origin to Vietnam are stipulated in Chapter III of the Circular 12 (See details, please click here);
c)Step 1 is not applicable for imported processed-packaged food products that are already issued the Certificate of conformity to food safety or the Certification of compliance with Vietnamese food safety requirements; and products imported for use as materials for production of good for export.

2.Step 2: Inspection of imported consignment:

a) At ports or gathering places, inspection of documents of the consignment; visual inspection; and taking samples (depending on risk level of the good, the maximum sampling frequency is 10%) shall be implemented. In the case, where document and visual inspection take place and the inspection agency issues the Food Safety Inspection Certificate as the standard form, the importing organization/individual is able to process customs clearance for the imported consignment;
b)During six (6) month inspection period, in the case of detecting goods of same type from same country of origin violating food safety requirement for three (03) times, a tight inspection will be applied for the same type of goods from the same country of origin. The time to apply tight inspection is after the third violation of food safety requirement of the same goods from the same country of origin (See more details of the tight inspection, please click here).
c)The order and procedure on food safety inspection of imported consignment are stipulated in Chapter IV of the Circular 12 (See more details, please click here).

3 Step 3: Monitoring of products after customs clearance

After customs clearance, imported goods are subject to monitoring of relevant competent agencies specified in Article 19 of the Circular 12.

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