Expired OCOP products still have logos on them and are sold on the market
At a cooperative in Nam Dan district, after more than 5 years of producing and developing OCOP products, up to now, 11 products have been certified OCOP; many products of the cooperative are available at OCOP product stores in some localities in the province as well as in many other provinces. Among them, 3 products of the cooperative have expired their certification as OCOP products, including Lien Tu tea, lotus rice tea and Bach Lien Nu Vuong tea.
According to the Director of the cooperative, although the cooperative has completed the procedures to re-issue the Certificate for 2 products that expired in 2023, it has not been resolved yet, while the products may still be circulating on the market.
At the OCOP product stores at 72 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street and 22 Le Hong Phong Street (Vinh City), there are a variety of products. Ms. Vo Thi Thuy in Le Loi Ward (Vinh City) shared: "I often buy OCOP products for family use because I trust the assessment of the State agency, but I usually only look at the expiration date and do not pay attention to whether the OCOP label has expired or not."
Not only customers, but also sellers are very vague about this issue. A sales staff at a store on Le Hong Phong Street said: "The products sold at the store are provided by the entities, we only sell the products but do not know whether the OCOP label is still valid or not."
After more than 5 years of implementing the “One Commune One Product” program, Nghe An now has 567 products meeting OCOP standards. The OCOP program has been effective, contributing to promoting production and business development, and increasing the value of goods.
As one of the localities in the "top" of the province in building OCOP products, up to now, Nam Dan district has 69 products that have achieved OCOP certification, of which 18 products have expired for 36 months according to the certification in Decision No. 159/UBND dated January 20, 2021 of the Provincial People's Committee, including brown rice seaweed, Lien Tu tea, lotus rice tea, Chau Huong ham, Minh Hien ham, Duc Tuan ham, tapioca starch...
Mr. Nguyen Dinh The - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nam Dan district said: Registering and re-evaluating OCOP products is quite difficult. On December 18, 2023, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development issued Notice No. 5098/TB-SNN-PTNT on the expiration of the OCOP product certificate recognized in Decision No. 159/QD-UBND dated January 20, 2021 of the Provincial People's Committee. The district has sent this notice to the subjects and requested them to continue to maintain and improve product quality, complete the registration dossier, and re-evaluate the products. However, up to now, the units and subjects of OCOP whose Certificates have expired have not submitted their dossiers for re-evaluation.
The People's Committee of Nam Dan district has issued an official dispatch directing communes and towns to notify entities whose products have expired OCOP product recognition, and at the same time, propagate and mobilize entities to continue to maintain and improve product quality; supplement and complete registration dossiers, re-evaluate products according to the provisions of Decision No. 148/QD-TTg dated February 24, 2023 to be able to use the Vietnam OCOP product certification mark (OCOP logo with star) according to regulations.
Nam Dan District also announced to entities whose products have expired for 36 months but have not proposed for re-evaluation or re-evaluation does not meet the regulations, they will not be allowed to use the OCOP logo and Vietnam OCOP Product Certification. At the same time, strengthen inspection, supervision and handling. Urgently request to complete the dossier before April 20, 2024 to synthesize and organize re-evaluation of the products...
Need to rectify and strengthen management
According to the provisions of Decision No. 148/QD-TTg dated February 24, 2023 of the Prime Minister: Certificates for OCOP products achieving 3 - 5 stars are valid for 36 months from the date of issuance by the competent authority.
Mr. Nguyen Ho Lam - Deputy Head of the Department of Rural Development said: Up to now, after more than 5 years of implementation, Nghe An has had over 113 OCOP products whose certificates are no longer valid, but so far only 38 products, meaning less than 30%, have been re-evaluated and recognized by the organization. Some entities do not want to re-evaluate their products because the source of raw materials is no longer the same, the quantity of goods and market issues...
According to regulations, OCOP products that have expired for 36 months and have not been re-evaluated and recognized will not be allowed to use the OCOP logo when circulating on the market. However, this situation has been happening for a long time without any corrective action from the authorities.
In October 2023, the Provincial People's Committee directed to strengthen the management, direction, guidance and support for the implementation of the "One Commune One Product" (OCOP) Program. In particular, it required districts, cities and towns to urgently complete the re-evaluation of products that have been recognized for more than 36 months. In case the re-evaluation fails or the subjects with expired products do not propose re-evaluation, they must report to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to synthesize the report to the Provincial People's Committee and publicize it on the mass media.
In particular, the organization must closely inspect and monitor the use of OCOP logos, labels, designs, and packaging, and resolutely handle and provide widespread information to consumers, distributors, and market management agencies regarding OCOP entities that intentionally use them in violation of regulations.
To overcome the above situation, it is necessary to preside, connect, coordinate inspection, correction, and guidance for subjects to overcome limitations, increase support, and guidance for subjects to improve their self-awareness, responsibility for compliance, and enforcement of regulations to ensure the quality of OCOP products. On the part of the subjects, it is necessary to be more proactive in re-registering OCOP certification for expired products, improving the quality, design, and reputation of products to create trust with consumers, create a foothold, and dominate the market.
“The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will continue to review and guide the entities registering their products to participate in the direction of focusing on developing new products, at the same time, focusing on upgrading existing products, not chasing quantity, with the motto that production must take the market as the development target, striving for the province's OCOP products to not only be consumed domestically but also exported abroad. At the same time, strictly comply with the regulations on the recognition and re-recognition process”, affirmed the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Phung Thanh Vinh.
Nghe An strives to have at least 650 OCOP products recognized as 3 stars or higher by the end of 2025, of which 10% of products are 4-star and 5 products are 5-star; at least 50% of OCOP entities participate in modern sales channels (supermarket systems, convenience stores, e-commerce trading floors, etc.); build 2 OCOP product display and sales points in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
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