Previously, Circular 18/2019/TT-BYT allowed, in case health protection foods produced by production facilities are not certified or certified by competent agencies of the importing country to meet GMP requirements, the Ministry of Health will establish an expert council to consider, determine conformity with the request on the basis of information in the dossier provided by the enterprise as the basis for the import permit. However, Circular 17 obliges all functional foods to be imported only when the GMP certificate or confirmation of compliance with legal regulations in the exporting country.
Specifically, Circular 17 stipulates that imported health protection foods must be produced at establishments that have been granted one of the certificates of the form by the competent authority of the producing country or an organization designated or recognized by the competent authority of the producing country Products suitable for imported health food products as follows:
a. Certificate of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) for health food product manufacturers;
b. Good manufacturing practice (GMP) certification or assessment for a drug or food manufacturing facility;
c. For countries or territories that fail to issue certificates specified in Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article, organizations or individuals shall submit certificates, including one of the following contents:
- Conform to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) standards;
- Conforms to ISO 22000 (International Organization for Standardization 22000);
- Conform to international food standards (IFS - International Food Standard);
- In line with the British Retailer Consortium's (BRC) global standards for food safety;
- Conform to food safety system standards (FSSC 22000 - Food Safety System Certification 22000).
d. For countries or territories that fail to issue certificates specified at Points a, b, and c, Clause 1 of this Article, they must be granted certificates or written certification containing the content that the production establishment meets the legal regulations in that country or territory.
According to our assessment, this regulation is stricter and ensures objectivity in reviewing conditions and approving applications to allow the import of healthy foods, thereby better protecting the rights and health of consumers.
Circular 17 takes effect from November 9, 2023.
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