1. What is a Food safety certificate?

The official name of the food safety certificate is the Certificate of Eligibility for Food Safety. This is a license issued by a competent authority to food production, trading and catering establishments that meet the requirements and conditions on food safety according to the law.

A food safety certificate (CFSH) is also known by other names such as: Food Safety License, Food Hygiene and Safety Certificate, or Food Sanitation Certificate...

Food safety certificates aim to protect the health of consumers as well as define the responsibilities for food-related businesses. 

2. When is a Food safety certificate required?

Food production and trading establishments must have a Food Safety Certificate when operating. Therefore, after being granted a Enterprise Registration Certificate or a Business Certificate For Individual Business Household, enterprises, business households and affiliated units that have registered for the food production and trading and catering services industry must apply for a Food Safety Certificate 

• Facilities not required to be granted a Food Safety Certificate include: 
  • Small-scale initial production; 
  • Food production and trading without a fixed location; 
  • Small-scale food processing; 
  • Small-scale food business; 
  • Prepackaged food business;  
  • Production and trading of tools and materials used for packaging and containment;
  • Restaurants within hotels;
  • Collective kitchens are not registered for food business; 
  • Street food business; 
• Establishments have been granted one of the following certificates:
  • Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP),
  • Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP),
  • ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System,
  • International Food Standards (IFS),
  • British Retail Consortium Global Standards (BRC),
  • Food Safety System Certification (FSSC 22000) or any equivalent certification that is still valid 

The establishments listed above must comply with the respective food safety requirements 

Thus, except for establishments that are not subject to the aforementioned Food Safety Certificate, food production and trading establishments are required to have a Certificate of Eligible for Food Safety when operating 

(Legal basis: Article 11, Article 12 of Decree 15 2018 ND-CP guiding the Law on Food Safety)

3.What are the conditions for applying for a Food Safety Certificate? 

a. General conditions for ensuring food safety in food production and trading as prescribed in Chapter IV of the Law on Food Safety 2010

• Having suitable location and area, ensuring a safe distance from toxic sources, pollution sources and other harmful factors;

• Having a sufficient supply of water that meets technical standards for food production and trading; 

• Having adequate and suitable equipment for handling raw materials, processing, packaging, preserving and transporting different types of food; having adequate equipment, tools, washing and sterilizing means, disinfectants, equipment for preventing and controlling harmful insects and animals; 

• Having a waste treatment system and operate it regularly according to regulations of law on environmental protection; 
• Maintaining food safety conditions and keeping records of the origin and source of food ingredients and other documents on the entire food production and trading process; 
• Complying with regulations on health, knowledge and practices of individuals directly involved in food production or trading.

b. Conditions for ensuring food safety in food preservation 

• The storage area and storage facilities must be adequately sized, with enough space to store each type of food separately, allowing safe and accurate loading and unloading techniques, and ensuring hygiene during the storage process;
• Preventing the effects of temperature, humidity, insects, animals, dust, strange odors and other negative environmental impacts; ensuring adequate lighting; having specialized equipment to regulate temperature, humidity and other climatic conditions, ventilation equipment and other special storage conditions according to the requirements of each type of food; 
• Complying with the preservation regulations of organizations and individuals food  producing and trading.

c. Conditions for ensuring food safety in food transportation  

• Food transport vehicles are made of materials that do not contaminate food or food packaging and are easy to clean; 
• Ensuring food preservation conditions during transportation according to the instructions of the production and business organization or individual; 
• Do not transport food with hazardous goods or any goods that may cause cross-contamination and affect food quality.

d. Conditions for ensuring food safety in small-scale food production and business

• Having a safe distance from toxic sources and sources of pollution; 
• Ensuring an adequate supply of water that meets technical standards for food production and business;
• Having suitable equipment to for food production and trading that does not cause contamination or pose risks to food safety;
• Using ingredients, chemicals, food additives, food processing aids, tools, packaging materials, food containers in food preparation, processing, and preservation;
• Complying with regulations on health, knowledge and practices of individuals directly involved in food production and trading; 
• Collecting and treating waste in accordance with environmental protection laws;
• Maintaining food safety conditions and keeping information related to purchases and sales to ensure traceability of food origin;

e. In addition to the above conditions, depending on actual business activities, food production and trading establishments must also meet other specific food safety and hygiene conditions as follows 

• Conditions for ensuring food safety in the production and trading of fresh food;
• Conditions for ensuring food safety in preliminary processing, processing and trading of processed foods;
• Conditions for ensuring food safety in food service business;
• Conditions for ensuring food safety in street food business.

(Legal basis Article 19 – Article 34 of the Food Safety Law 2010)

f. Registered food business line in the Enterprise Registration Certificate 

Enterprises and business households must register food-related business line in their business registration dossiers or Business Household Registration Certificates. 

Some food-related industries include:

• Industry code 4631: Wholesale of rice, other cereal grains, wheat, flour;
• Industry code 4632: Wholesale of food;
• Industry code 4633: Wholesale of beverages;
• Industry code 4723: Retail sale of beverages in specialized stores;
• Industry code 4711: Retail sale of food, beverages, foodstuffs, cigarettes, and tobacco products as a major proportion in general stores;
• Industry code 5610: Restaurants and mobile food services;
• Industry code 1010: Processing and preserving of meat and meat products;
• Industry code 1020: Processing and preserving of aquatic products and aquatic products;
• Industry code 1030: Processing and preserving of fruits and vegetables;
• Industry code 1050: Processing of milk and dairy products;
• Industry code 1062: Production of starch and starch products;
• Industry code 1071: Production of bakery products from flour;
• Industry code 1074: Production of prepared meals and dishes;
• …

4.Which authority is responsible for issuing the Food Safety Certificate? 

Depending on each specific case according to legal regulations, the authority to issue Food Safety Certificate belongs to the following agencies 

• Minister of Health;
• Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development;
• Minister of Industry and Trade;

5.What documents are required to apply for a Food Safety Certificate? 

The application dossier for Food Safety Certificate includes: 

• Application form for the Certificate of food safety conditions;
• Copy of Enterprise Registration Certificate;
• Description of the facilities, equipment and tools ensuring food hygiene and safety conditions according to regulations of competent authority;
• Health certificate of the owner and the person directly producing and trading food issued by a medical facility at district level or higher;
• Certificate of training in food safety and hygiene of the owner and of the person directly producing and trading food according to the regulations of the Minister of the Ministry managing the industry.

6.What are the procedures for applying for a Food Safety Certificate? 

Step 1: Organizations and individuals producing and trading food must submit an application for a Certificate of food safety conditions to the competent state agency specified in Article 35 of the Law on Food Safety 

Step 2: Within 15 days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid dossier, the competent state agency shall conduct an on-site inspection of food safety conditions at the food production and trading establishment; if the conditions are met, a Certificate of food safety conditions must be issued; in not, a written response must be given stating the reasons.

(Legal basis: Article 36 of the Food Safety Law 2010)

7.How long is the validity period of the Food Safety Certificate?

Article 37 of the 2010 Law on Food Safety stipulates the validity period of the Food Safety Certificate as follows:

• Food safety certificate is valid for 03 years 
• 06 months before the expiration date of the Food Safety Certificate, organizations and individuals producing and trading food must submit an application for renewal if they wish to continue their operations. The application, order and procedures for re-issuance shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Article 36 of the 2010 Law on Food Safety 

8.How much does it cost to apply for a Food Safety Certificate? 

The fees of applying for a Food Safety Certificate are specified in the Fee Schedule for food safety activities issued together with Circular No. 67 2021 TT-BTC dated August 5, 2021 of the Minister of Finance, specifically as follows:

In addition to the above fee, there are other related costs such as:

• Health examination fees for obtaining Health Certificates for the facility owner and the individuals directly producing and trading food, issued by a medical facility at district level or higher:
• Food safety training costs to obtain a Certificate of training in food safety knowledge for the owner and the individual directly producing and trading food according to the regulations of the Minister of the Ministry managing the industry;
• …

9. FAQ

What is the penalty for not having a Food Safety Certificate? 

Article 18 of Decree 115 2018 ND-CP is amended by Clause 8, Article 1 of Decree 124 2021 ND-CP, provides for penalties related to violations of regulations on Certificate of food safety, as follows:  

"1. A fine ranging from VND 20,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for providing food services without a Certificate of food safety conditions or using an expired certificate, except for cases exempt from the requirement for such certification 

2. A fine ranging from VND 30,000,000 to VND 40,000,000 shall be imposed for producing or trading food without a Certificate of food safety conditions or using an expired certificate, except for cases that are not subject to certification requirements

3. A fine ranging from VND 40,000,000 to VND 60,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following acts 

1. Producing health protection foods without a Certificate of food safety conditions meeting good manufacturing practice requirements (hereinafter referred to as GMP) or having a GMP Certificate but it has expired, except for the case of producing health protection foods on a production line of medicinal herbs, traditional medicines or other cases as prescribed by the Minister of Health 
2. Trading and circulating on the market domestically produced or imported health protection food products that had been granted a Certificate of conformity to food safety regulations or a Certificate of product declaration registration before July 1, 2019 without supplementing the GMP Certificate or equivalent certificate before production.

4. Remedial measures 

1. Mandatory recall of food for violations of provisions in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article;
2. Mandatory repurposing or recycling or destruction of food for violations of provisions in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article."