Biscuits and powdered milk also undergo animal quarantine…
According to regulations, biscuits and powdered milk, which contain milk, must undergo animal quarantine even after heat treatment, eliminating the risk of bacterial contamination.
In Ho Chi Minh City, the Central Institute for Economic Management Research (CIEM), in collaboration with the USAID Governance for Inclusive Growth (USAID GIG) project, organized a workshop on implementing Government Resolution 19 on administrative procedure reform in the management and inspection of import and export goods. The workshop aimed to gather feedback from businesses to discuss challenges and work with relevant ministries and agencies to find solutions to improve the business environment and enhance national competitiveness.
Regulations are too broad.
According to Mr. Vu Quoc Tuan, representative of the Food and Nutrition Subcommittee of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), regulations on animal and animal product quarantine have been expanded excessively. Mr. Tuan stated that processed dairy products and products containing dairy ingredients are all subject to animal quarantine. Even heat-treated products (where bacteria are killed), such as powdered milk and biscuits, are still subject to animal quarantine. Meanwhile, the World Organisation for Animal Health and the International Food Commission (Codex) both agree that, conventionally, only fresh or semi-processed milk should be inspected.
"Therefore, we propose that animal quarantine should only be applied to fresh milk and semi-processed milk, not to heat-treated milk products. In fact, inspections of this product have achieved 100% quarantine compliance in the past, causing significant time and cost burdens for businesses. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should promptly address these obstacles for businesses," Mr. Tuan suggested.
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Furthermore, Mr. Tuan also suggested that agencies and departments should exercise caution when inspecting businesses in applying preventive measures such as halting circulation or temporarily seizing goods before test results are available or when test results are still controversial, as this could lead to the bankruptcy of the business.
"When going to court, the defendant still gets to say their final words, but businesses can be 'killed' without a chance to appeal because the inspection agency relies on a single test. The Ministry of Science and Technology should open up a mechanism for businesses to conduct a second and third test to verify the results. I'll give a specific example: a business had test results showing that the acid content (sourness) in their product was six times higher than the declared level, but luckily the inspection team listened to the business in time. At that time, the business explained that if the product truly had six times the acid content, it would be very sour to eat, but in reality, based on visual observation, the product was very normal, so the test results might have been wrong. Subsequent retesting showed that the product met the standards, and the case was resolved amicably," Mr. Tuan said.
Regarding Mr. Tuan's proposal, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Linh, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Standards, Metrology and Quality - Ministry of Science and Technology, said that previously, businesses were allowed to re-test, and this regulation had been exploited by some businesses. "Laboratories must be responsible for the test results. Businesses should follow the example of other countries and sue laboratories that make mistakes to seek compensation," Mr. Linh suggested.
Not in line with international practice.
According to Mr. Pham Thanh Binh, a USAID GIG project expert, from 2014 to 2017, the Government issued Resolution 19 on key tasks and solutions to improve the business environment and enhance national competitiveness. In 2017, according to rankings by international organizations, Vietnam's competitiveness increased by 5 positions, the business environment by 14 positions, and innovation by 12 positions compared to 2016, reaching the highest positions Vietnam has ever achieved.
Regarding the implementation of Resolution 19, Mr. Binh noted that many aspects still fall short. "The application of risk management in specialized inspections has only been implemented in the food sector; other sectors have basically not yet implemented it. The application of international practices (mutual recognition in specialized inspections, proactively recognizing the quality of regions with high, advanced quality standards such as the US, Europe, and Japan) has not yet been announced by any ministry," Mr. Binh cited as examples.
According to Mr. Binh, the goods requiring the most specialized inspections fall under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. This ministry also has the slowest customs clearance time, at 108 hours (in Ho Chi Minh City) and 96 hours (in Hanoi) for shipments requiring animal quarantine. Meanwhile, Resolution 19 stipulates that customs clearance time for imported goods should not exceed 90 hours. Regarding goods managed by the Ministry of Science and Technology, according to Mr. Nguyen Hoang Linh, the time has been shortened from 23 days in the 2012-2015 period to just one day (24 hours) currently.