Gain better understanding of food traceability, growing area codes, and packing facilities

Mr. Huynh Tan Dat, Deputy Director of Plant Protection Department (PPD), shares with the forum on promoting digitalization in agro-product and food traceability some information about food traceability, growing area codes and packing facility. “These are contents institutionalized from all documents concerning the field of plant protection, demonstrating two basic laws: Law on Food Safety and Law on Plant Protection and Quarantine. The regulations are present throughout all stages of production from out-field production to input management, production procedures, harvesting, processing, and consumption,” said Mr. Huynh Tan Dat.

Management of traceability means having a firm grasp of information from all stages of production. The Plant Protection Department has currently utilized 4.0 technology and digitalization to manage growing area codes and packing facility codes, generally “identity codes” for farming households and specifically the products.

To ensure all regulations during the production process, the Plant Protection Department has laid out many sanitary and phytosanitary requirements for plant-based products. For example, food production and trading establishments must achieve one of the following certifications: Satisfying food safety conditions specified in Circular 38/2018/TT-BNNPTNT; Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems; Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP); ISO 22000 food safety management system; International Food Standards (IFS); Global Standard for Food Safety (BRC); Food safety system (FSSC 22000); or equivalent certification.

As for the general principle of growing area codes and packing facilities for export, the Plant Protection Department deems it vital that these establishments need to comply with the requirements of the importing country. Registration of growing area codes or packing facility numbers is on a voluntary basis. Inspection is the basis for granting the code or maintaining/recovering the code, and the code must be recognized by the importing country. The issued code must always comply with the conditions of the importing country and must be supervised by the regulatory authority to maintain the code.

The issuance procedure is conducted with the aid of the e-portal of the PPD, therefore securing information transparency. Planting areas that are assigned codes by the importing country will be given an account to use the electronic diary. Electronic diaries can completely replace traditional diaries.