Regulations on exporting raw bird's nest and clean bird's nest to China

Preparing bird's nest. (Photo: Tuan Anh/VNA)

According to the Protocol, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will be responsible for quarantine, inspection, safety and health supervision of raw bird's nests and clean bird's nests exported to China and issuing Export Quarantine Certificates.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will be responsible for providing the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) with laws, regulations, and standards related to raw bird's nest and clean bird's nest, as well as testing indicators, methods, procedures, and standards applicable to products exported to China.

Indicators for avian influenza virus, Newcastle, as well as sensory testing requirements must be included in the standards for raw bird's nest. Indicators for avian influenza virus, Newcastle, nitrite limit, aluminum limit and sensory testing... must be included in the standards for clean bird's nest.

The Ministry also provides regulations on disease prevention and management of bird's nest houses; operating procedures to control bird's nest hygiene during harvesting and transportation.

Annual programs on disease surveillance and toxic residue control to ensure food safety for bird's nests, including reasonable number of samples from bird's nest farms notified to GACC for testing for avian influenza and Newcastle disease.

Programs, plans and reports on the implementation of these programs and plans must be submitted to GACC within 3 months after completion.

Cleaning bird's nest products at the factory of Khanh Hoa Salanganes Nest Company. (Photo: Vu Sinh/VNA)

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will ensure that the food safety management system for raw bird's nest and clean bird's nest is always maintained effectively and meets the requirements of Chinese laws and regulations.

If necessary, GACC can conduct remote video inspection or send experts to Vietnam to inspect, evaluate and verify the compliance of bird's nests.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will provide the necessary support to facilitate this process.

Raw bird's nest processing facilities and clean bird's nest processing facilities exporting to China must be registered with GACC. Only products produced after the registration date are allowed to be exported to China. Unregistered facilities will not be allowed to export to China.

The production and processing of raw bird's nest and clean bird's nest for export to China must comply with relevant regulations of Vietnam and China on quarantine, inspection and food safety.

Raw bird's nests and clean bird's nests exported to China must be heat-treated to reach a core temperature of no less than 70 degrees Celsius and maintained for at least 3.6 seconds to ensure effective killing of avian influenza and Newcastle viruses.

Checking the humidity of bird's nest after processing. (Photo: Hong Nhung/VNA)

The official veterinarian of Vietnam will be responsible for: quarantine and inspection of raw bird's nests and clean bird's nests; certify that raw bird's nests and clean bird's nests are produced and processed according to an effective quality management system, and are effectively heat-treated to avoid contamination with any pathogens; ensure that raw bird's nest processing facilities and clean bird's nest processing facilities exporting to China must establish a traceability system...

Raw bird's nest and clean bird's nest exported to China must be packaged with new materials, in accordance with international hygiene standards. The inner and outer packaging of the product must be sealed.

The outer packaging of raw bird's nest must clearly state the name and weight of the product, the registration number of the bird's nest farm, the name and address, the registration number of the processing facility, the storage conditions, the production date, and the expiration date in Chinese and English.

Each shipment of raw bird's nest and clean bird's nest exported to China must be accompanied by an original copy of the Veterinary Quarantine Certificate in Chinese and English. The form and content of the Veterinary Quarantine Certificate will be agreed upon in advance by both parties.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall promptly provide GACC with updated information on the Authority competent to issue the Certificate, the sample of the Veterinary Quarantine Certificate, the handwritten signature sample of the competent officer signing the Certificate and other relevant documents for storage.

Any changes and modifications to the documents provided must be notified to GACC one month in advance.

In case imported bird's nests are found to not meet the requirements of this Protocol, GACC has the right to return, destroy and notify the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will take necessary measures to investigate the cause as requested by GACC and respond to the results promptly.

The Protocol between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the General Administration of Customs of China on quarantine, inspection and veterinary hygiene requirements for bird's nest products exported from Vietnam to China signed on November 9, 2022 will expire on the date this Protocol comes into effect.

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment said that Vietnam has 12 enterprises licensed to export bird's nest products to China.

According to the Protocol, raw bird's nest is the raw material for the production of clean bird's nest, which is formed from the saliva of swiftlets or swiftlets of the same species that have been preliminarily cleaned including removing bird droppings, soil and other raw impurities, and clean of mold without using any chemicals.

Clean bird's nest is a product formed from the saliva of swiftlets or swiftlets of the same species that have had dirt and feathers removed, making it safe for consumers./.

According to VNA

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/quy-dinh-xuat-khau-to-yen-tho-va-to-yen-sach-sang-trung-quoc-245894.htm