Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 15/2017/NĐ-CP dated 17/2/2017 delineating the functions, mandates, jurisdiction, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD);

Pursuant to the Law on National Standards and Technical Regulations, dated 29/6/2006;

Pursuant to the Law on Food Safety, dated 17/6/2010;

At the proposal of the Director General of the Department of Science, Technology, and Environment (DSTE), and of the Director General of the National Agro-Forestry-Fishery Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD),

The Minister of MARD hereby issues this Circular for the promulgation of the “National Technical Regulations for Agri-Forestry-Fishery Product Wholesale Markets and Auctioning Markets – Requirements for Ensuring Food Safety.”

1. This Circular makes guidance for the general principles on food sampling to serve the inspection and examination of food safety, hygiene and quality.
2. This Circular is applicable to organizations and individuals related to the activity of food sampling during the inspection and examination of food safety, hygiene and quality.

Article 2. Explanation of terms

In this Circular, the following terms are construed as follows:

1. Food sampling is a technical manipulation in order to obtain a certain food volume that is representative and homogeneous to serve the analysis, assessment of food safety, hygiene and quality
2. Batch of food products is a defined quantity of a type of product of the same name, quality, materials, and shelf life and be produced in the same facility.
3. Sample for testing is a general sample used for testing and assessment of criteria in the laboratory.
4. Retained sample is the one having the same characteristics with the tested sample and retained at the testing facility, the sampling facility or the facility chosen by the head of examination and inspection group;

This Decree elaborates certain Articles and enforcement of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations including:

1. Entities against whom administrative penalties are imposed.
2. Regulations on administrative violations and administrative penalties.
3. Applications of regulations on administrative penalties.
4. State management of enforcement of laws on handling of administrative violations.

Article 2. Regulated entities

1. Authorities competent to manage the enforcement of laws on handling of administrative violations.

1. Amendments to Article 1 as follows:

“Article 1. Scope

1. This Decree deals with information on goods labels, presentation thereof, and state management of labels of goods circulated in Vietnam, exports and imports.
2. The following goods shall not be regulated by this Decree:
3. a) Real property;

Goods temporarily imported for re-export; goods in transit, goods involved in merchanting trade transactions; transshipped goods; goods imported and sent to bonded warehouses for export to third countries.

1. c) Baggage of incoming/outgoing passengers; personal belongings;
2. d) Confiscated goods for auction purpose;
3. dd) Goods being fresh, raw food, processed food without packaging and sold directly to consumers;
4. e) Commodities being fuel, materials (agricultural products, aquatic products, minerals), scrap (in production and business), construction materials without packaging and sold directly to consumers;
5. g) Commodities being petrol and oil, gas (LPG, CNG, LNG), liquid without commercial packaging in containers, tankers;
6. h) Used goods; Goods in the area of security and national defense; goods being radioactive substances, goods to be used for emergencies so as to solve problems of natural disaster, epidemic diseases; railway, waterway, airway vehicles.
7. In case the regulations of an international agreement to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory are different from the regulations of this Decree, the regulations of the international agreement shall apply.”;

1. This Decree prescribes acts, sanction forms, rates and remedies, authority to issue penalty notice and authority to sanction administrative violations involving cultural and advertising activities.
2. Administrative violations involving cultural and advertising activities that are not covered by this Decree shall be subject to penalties for administrative violations involving relevant state management activities.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. This Decree shall apply to:
2. a) Vietnamese entities and persons committing administrative violations involving cultural and advertising activities in Vietnam and abroad;
3. b) Foreign organizations and individuals committing administrative violations involving cultural and advertising activities within the territory of Vietnam;
4. c) Persons having authority to issue penalty notices or sanctioning authority, subject to this Decree.
5. Entities or organizations specified in point a and b of clause 1 of this Article, including:
6. a) State regulatory authorities committing any violation that does not fall within the assigned state management duties;
7. b) Vietnamese enterprises and their subordinate units (e.g. branches, representative offices), foreign enterprises operating within Vietnam; branches, representative offices of foreign enterprises operating within Vietnam;
8. c) Cooperatives or cooperative alliances;
9. d) State and non-state public service units;
10. dd) Socio-professional organizations operating in cultural and advertising sectors;
11. e) International and foreign organizations in Vietnam;
12. g) Foreign cultural establishments in Vietnam and their branches in Vietnam;
13. h) Other organizations involved in administrative violations arising from cultural and advertising activities.

Article 2. This Circular takes effect on October 01, 2013.

When corresponding National Technical Regulations are promulgated, the maximum limits on residues of veterinary medicines in food in such National Technical Regulations shall apply.

Part 2 of “Maximum limits on residues of veterinary medicines in food” promulgated together with the Decision No. 46/2007/QĐ-BYT dated December 19, 2007 of the Minister of Health on “Maximum limits on biological and chemical contaminations in food” is annulled from the effective date of this Circular.

Article 3. This Circular shall be amended to management requirements. Organizations and individuals are recommended to report the difficulties that arise during the implementation to the Ministry of Health (Vietnam Food Administration) for consideration and settlement.

Article 4. Vietnam Food Administration, specialized state management authorities, and relevant units are responsible for the implementation of this Circular./.

1. Article 13 is amended as follows:

“Article 13. Provision of cross-border advertising services in Vietnam

1. Provision of cross-border advertising services in Vietnam is the use of websites to provide advertising services for users in Vietnam from service providing equipment systems located outside of Vietnamese territory and earn revenues in Vietnam by foreign organizations and individuals.
2. Cross-border advertising service provision websites mentioned in this Decree are information systems using one or more than one website in the form of symbols, numbers, letters, images and sounds and other forms of information to provide network users with services of information storage, provision, use, search and exchange, sharing of sounds and images, and creation of online chats and forums to provide advertising services.

3. When providing cross-border advertising services in Vietnam, Vietnamese and foreign advertising service providers, advertisement distributors and advertisers must comply with

Article 1. Scope

This Circular regulates:

1. Inspection of imported food under the administration of the the Ministry of Health prescribed in:

Annex No.01 of the Joint Circular No. 13/2014/TTLT-BYT-BNNPTNT-BCT  guiding the assignment and cooperation in State management of food safety dated April 09, 2014 of inter-ministries including the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture And Rural Development (hereinafter referred to as the Joint Circular No. 13/2014/TTLT-BYT-BNNPTNT-BCT);

1. b) Clause 3, Article 14 of the Decree No. 38/2012/ND-CP detailing the implementation a number of articles of the Law on Food Safety date April 25, 2012 of the Government;
2. The application and procedure for grant/withdrawal of a certificate of free sale for an exported food under the administration of the Ministry of Health
3. The application and procedure for grant/withdrawal of a certificate of health and certificate of export for an exported food under the administration of the Ministry of Health
4. This Circular excludes exported food that  are entitled to be free from inspection as regulated in Clause 2, Article 14 of the Decree No. 38/2012/ND-CP detailing the implementation a number of articles of the Law on Food Safety date April 25, 2012 of the Government;

1. This Circular deals with the maximum residue levels of pesticide in domestically produced foods and imported ones.
2. This Circular applies to producers and traders of foods, and authorities and entities involved.

Article 2. Interpretation of terms

In this document, these terms are construed as follows:

1. Maximum Residue Level (“MRL” for short) refers to the highest concentration of a pesticide residue in a food (unit: mg/kg of food).
2. Pesticide residue refers to any specified substance in food resulting from the use of a pesticide.

The term “pesticide residue” includes residues from unknown or unavoidable sources (e.g., environmental) as well as known uses of the chemical.

It includes any derivatives of a pesticide, such as conversion products, metabolites, reaction products, and impurities considered to be of toxicological significance.

3. Extraneous Maximum Residue Limit (“EMRL” for short) refers to the maximum concentration of a pesticide residue or a contaminant in food arising from environmental sources (including former uses of chemicals in agriculture), exclusive of the residue arising from the use of a pesticide or contaminant substance directly or indirectly on food (unit: mg/kg of food).

This Circular regulates the responsibilities for food safety inspection; the scope of inspection, modes of inspection, the inspection process and handling of inspection results in food production and trading under the administration of the Ministry of Health.

Article 2. Regulated Entities

1. 1. Entities producing and/or trading in sectors of the bottled water, mineral water, functional food, micronutrient-fortified food, food additives and substances; toolkits and packages under the administration of the Ministry of Health.
2. Food and beverage businesses and food street vendors.
3. Food manufacturers and businesses whose products are out of the control of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Trade and Industry; food manufacturers and businesses whose products are under the administration of at least 02 Ministries including the Ministry of Health as promulgated in the Joint Circular No. 13/2014/TTLT-BYT-BNNPTNT- BCT provides guidance on assignment and cooperation in food safety management dated April 09, 2014 by the Minister of Health, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Minister of Trade and Industry (hereinafter referred to as the Joint Circular No. 13/2014/TTLT-BYT-BNNPTNT- BCT).