On January 30, 2024, Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) officially informed the World Trade Organisation about a draft Circular regarding amendments to existing Circulars on the quarantine of terrestrial animals and terrestrial animal products, according to a recent US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report. This notification presented an opportunity for Vietnam’s trading partners and stakeholders to provide feedback and comments on the proposed draft. The comment period closed on February 23, 2024.
MARD aims to publish the revised Circular on March 1, 2024, and intends for it to come into effect on May 15, 2024. This report provides an UNOFFICIAL translation of the draft Circular. The notified draft Circular encompasses several noteworthy amendments, including:
- Imported frozen/chilled/preprocessed meat and poultry products intended for human consumption will be subject to testing for Salmonella spp. and E. Coli. Please be aware that Vietnam’s National Technical Regulation 8-3:2012/BYT stipulates a zero-tolerance policy for Salmonella in meat and poultry products. As per the drafting agency (MARD/Department of Animal Health), the inclusion of Salmonella and E. Coli testing requirements in the draft Circular is a response to the local livestock industry’s request for uniform control measures to be applied to both imported and domestic meat and poultry products.