Vietnam to Apply Int’l Standards on Imported Foods from July

Vietnam is set to apply requirements on imported animal food products as strict as those of the European Union and the United States from July 1, according to an official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The regulations, embodied in Decree 25/2010/TT-BNNPTNT and Decree 26/2010/TT-BNNPTNT by the ministry, will be based on the International Codex Committee’s procedures, said the Phung Huu Hao, deputy director of the ministry’s Quality Control of Agricultural, Forest and Aquatic Produce Department.

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization introduced the system in 1963 to help develop food standards, Hao added.

The move is aimed to protect local consumers from the spread of low-quality imported meat, he said

The decrees require countries wanting to export animal food products to register enterprises that meet Vietnam’s food hygiene and safety standards with Vietnamese Government agencies.

Vietnam’s inspectors will also check the conditions as well as the food hygiene and safety systems at the exporting enterprises.

All animal products that enter via border gates will be checked regularly during distribution to the markets.

The owners of any goods that do not comply with the new regulation’s will either have to return them to their country of origin or have them destroyed.

Offending enterprise could have their export licenses suspended.

The ministry’s farm produce quality control department will have responsibility for implementation of the decree.

Vietnam imported 50,000 tons of meat in the first five months of 2010, up 20% from a year earlier to 50,000 tons in the Jan-May period, with 95% of which was frozen pork. (VNS)

Tags: Vietnam Imported Foods