Penalties for violating regulations on product self-declaration in food products

Violation of regulations on product self-declaration is the act of producing and trading food that does not comply with the declaration of product quality and safety. Organizations and individuals, when trading food products need to carefully learn the process and procedures for self-declaration of products to avoid unnecessary violations. The article below will provide information related to product self-declaration regulations and penalties for violations.

In cases where the product is self-declared

According to regulations in Article 4 Decree 15/2018/ND-CP, organizations and individuals that produce and trade pre-packaged processed foods, food additives, food processing aids, food containers, and packaging materials in direct contact with food are allowed to self-declare their products, except in the following cases:

1. Exemption from self-declaration procedures: when trading products, raw materials for production and import are only used to produce or process export goods or serve the internal production of organizations or individuals and are not consumed in the domestic market.
2. Must register product declaration when trading products:

• Health protection foods, medical nutritional foods, foods for special diets.
• Nutritional products for children up to 36 months old.
• Mixed food additives with new uses, food additives that are not on the list of additives allowed for use in food or are not intended for use as prescribed by the Ministry of Health.

Penalties for violations of regulations on self-declaration of food products

Base Article 20 of Decree 115/2018 ND-CP (amended and supplemented by Clause 10, Article 1 of Decree 124/2021/ND-CP), violations of regulations on product self-declaration will be punished as follows:

1. Fine from 15,000,000 VND to 20,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:

• Do not notify, post or post the product self-declaration.
• Failure to publish updated food safety data on the Food Safety Information System or failure to submit a copy of product self-declaration to a competent state agency.
• Do not keep records of self-declared products.
• Documents in foreign languages ​​in the product self-declaration dossier must not be translated into Vietnamese and not notarized.

2. Fine from 20,000,000 VND to 30,000,000 VND for one of the following acts of using test result sheets to self-declare products:

• Using expired test result sheets.
• The test result sheet does not meet food safety criteria.
• The test result sheet contains at least one of the food safety indicators that is inconsistent with corresponding regulations and standards or is inconsistent with the provisions of law.
• The test result certificate is issued by a testing laboratory that is not designated or not accredited in accordance with ISO 17025.
• The test result card is not an original or a certified copy.
• There is no test result sheet in the product self-declaration dossier that is still valid at the time of self-declaration according to regulations.

3. Fine from 30,000,000 VND to 40,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:

• Producing or importing products subject to self-declaration of products that do not conform to corresponding technical regulations or regulations of competent authorities or published standards.
• The content of self-declared food safety requirements is not consistent with corresponding regulations and standards or is not in accordance with the law.
• Fine from 40,000,000 VND to 50,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:
• Producing or importing products subject to self-declaration without having a self-declaration of the product.
• Self-declaration of products for products subject to product declaration registration.

Additional penalties: Suspension of part or all of food production and import activities from 01 month to 03 months for violations in cases 3 and 4 above.

Remedial measures:

• Forced food recall for violations in cases 2, 3 and 4.
• Forced change of use purpose or recycling or forced destruction of food for violations specified in point 1 of case 3 and point 2 of case 4.
• Forced withdrawal of self-declared product for violations of regulations in case 2, point 2 of case 3 and point 2 of case 4.

Order and procedures for self-declaration of food products

Base Article 5 of Decree 15/2018/ND-CP, the procedure for self-declaration of products is as follows:

Profile components:

• Product self-declaration according to form No. 01, Appendix I issued with this Decree;
• Food safety testing result certificate of the product within 12 months up to the date of submission, issued by a designated testing laboratory or an accredited testing laboratory in accordance with ISO 17025;
• Authorization letter to carry out procedures in case the person submitting the application on behalf of the applicant is not the legal representative.

Announcement method:

• Organizations and individuals self-announce products on the mass media or their electronic information pages or publicly list them at the headquarters of the organization or individual and publish on the updated food safety data information system.
• In case there is no updated data information system on food safety, organizations and individuals shall submit 01 copy by post or directly to the competent state management agency designated by the People’s Committee of the province or centrally run city to store records and post the names of organizations, individuals and names of self-declared products on the electronic information page of the receiving agency.
• In case an organization or individual has 02 or more production facilities producing the same product, the organization or individual will only submit the application at a local state management agency with a production facility selected by the organization or individual.

Note: Once you have selected a state management agency to submit your application, subsequent self-declarations must be submitted to the previously selected agency.

Consulting services and guidance on self-declaration of reputable food products

Long Phan Consulting Company providing consulting services and guidance on self-declaration of professional and reputable food products. Our services include:

• Consulting on cases where products must be self-declared;
• Consulting on cases of exemption from product self-declaration;
• Consulting and support in drafting product self-declaration documents;
• Guidance on product announcement methods;
• Consulting on penalties for violations of regulations on self-declaration of food products;
• Consulting and guidance on handling violations of product self-declaration;
• Consulting and answering other issues related to product self-declaration.

Frequently asked questions about penalties for violations of regulations on product self-declaration

Below are questions that we often encounter during the consulting process, please refer to:

Which food products require self-declaration?

Pre-packaged processed foods, food additives, food processing aids, containers and food packaging materials.

In what cases is it not necessary to self-publish the product?

The product is only used to produce and process export goods or serve internal production.

What requirements does a food safety testing certificate need to meet?

The voucher must be valid, complete with safety criteria, and issued by a testing laboratory designated or accredited to ISO 17025.

What are the penalties for using an expired testing certificate?

Fine from 20,000,000 VND to 30,000,000 VND.

What is the maximum fine for producing food without a self-declaration?

Fine from 40,000,000 VND to 50,000,000 VND.

What are the additional penalties for serious violations?

Suspension of part or all of food production and import activities for 1 to 3 months.

What are the remedies for violating self-declaration regulations?

Food recall, repurposing, recycling, food destruction, and self-declaration recall.

Which products need to register a product declaration?

Health protection foods, medical nutritional foods, foods for special diets, nutritional products for children up to 36 months old and mixed food additives with new uses.

When submitting a product self-declaration application, which agencies should I send it to?

Submit the dossier to the competent state management agency designated by the People’s Committee of the province or centrally run city to store the dossier.

In case an enterprise has 2 or more production facilities, where will the application for self-declaration of products be submitted?

In case an organization or individual has 02 or more production facilities producing the same product, the organization or individual will only submit the application at a local state management agency with a production facility selected by the organization or individual.

Conclude

Complying with regulations on product self-declaration is the responsibility of each organization and individual producing and trading food. Please contact Long Phan Consulting Company via the hotline: 0906735386 for detailed advice and support on food product self-declaration services. We are committed to accompanying customers on the path of sustainable development.