From July 1 this year, any individual or organisation found to have used banned substances in animal feed will face fines of up to VND3 billion (USD142,800) or 20 years in prison.
Nguyen Van Viet, chief inspector of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said these penalties were included in the revised Criminal Code which will take effect from July 1 this year.
Nguyen Van Viet, chief inspector of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
He also noted that Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Ministry of Public Security had uncovered many companies last year, using banned substances in animal feed. However, the current laws does not provide for criminal prosecutions for these violations.
The National Assembly discussed the necessity of tightening control over the production of animal feed through the revision of the Criminal Code to include the prosecution against the violators.
According to the revised Criminal Code, the offenders will receive fines of between VND50 million (USD2,300) and VND3 billion, have their business licence revoked or face up to 20 years in prison, depending on the level of the violations.
Under the code, not only using but also transportation and trading of banned substances will face the penalties.
The use of banned substances for animal feed production such as Salbutamol and Auramine O has considerably decreased in many cities and provinces. Now, the public sales of these substances in the market have also on the fall, Viet said.
Since the Tet Holiday this year, no farms and slaughters in the northern region have been found using these substances. However, the situation has remained complicated in the south, focusing in HCM City and Dong Nai.
