Currently, the whole country has issued thousands of growing area codes and packaging facilities to serve the export of fresh vegetables and fruits to many major markets such as China, Japan, Korea, the US or Australia. However, in reality, there are still many shortcomings in the management process.
To strengthen quality control and traceability of exported agricultural products, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is drafting a new Circular specifically regulating the issuance and management of growing area codes and packaging facilities. This is considered an important step to meet the increasingly high demand from import markets.
According to the draft, a growing area to be granted a code must meet many criteria: specialize in growing a certain type of crop, apply a good agricultural practice (GAP) process, and comply with regulations on the use of pesticides and fertilizers. In particular, harvesting products must ensure the isolation time of pesticides; do not let products come into direct contact with soil; take measures to ensure food safety, control pests and trace the origin of products during the process of gathering and transporting products from growing areas to packaging facilities.
Meanwhile, packaging facilities must ensure adequate facilities, equipment and tools for receiving, classifying, processing, preserving and packaging crop products according to the one-sided principle, taking measures to control harmful animals to avoid reinfection and cross-infection, ensuring hygiene and hygiene. In particular, there are measures to ensure food safety, control pests and trace the origin during the preservation, transportation and consumption of products.
The local competent authority will be responsible for periodic inspection and supervision and have the right to temporarily suspend or revoke the code in case of detecting violations in such cases as: Not coordinating to conduct periodic supervision; using banned chemicals, using pesticides in violation of regulations; receiving repeated notices of non-compliance from the importing country...
The draft Circular being drafted not only helps unify the code issuance process but is also an important basis for handling violations, thereby improving the competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural products. In the context of the world market increasingly demanding on traceability and quality control, perfecting legal regulations is an inevitable requirement for the sustainable development of the agricultural sector.
