VASEP sent an official document to Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long and relevant ministries, providing feedback on the draft decree amending and supplementing articles of Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP.
According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, the new draft, which was developed by the Ministry of Health and added several regulations, will create difficulties for production and business operations. This can increase costs and the time required for legal procedures.
Specifically, the draft only allows manufacturers or product owners to declare products, adds multiple procedures related to self-declaration, declaration registration and re-registration, including those that are inconsistent with international practices.
The proposal of applying the management model for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics to food products caused controversy. Meanwhile, according to the recommendations of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the internationally recognized risk manager in food safety, food should be controlled under the advanced HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) management system.
VASEP estimates that these requirements could cause businesses to increase costs up to more than VND7,230 billion (US$286 million) each year, and extend document processing time by at least three months, significantly impacting business plans.
VASEP has recommended to remain the current self-declaration procedures outlined in Decree 15 instead of adding new regulations that could increase costs and risks for businesses.
