Food registration certificate for industrial plants, family-scale workshops and imported food
食品进口/注册
ໃບທະບຽນອາຫານ (ໂຮງງານອຸດສາຫະກຳ / ໂຮງງານຂະໜາດນ້ອຍແບບຄອບຄົວ / ອາຫານນຳເຂົ້າ)
Handling agency: Food and Drug Department (MOH)
Source: 卫生部食药司FDD官方站 (http://fdd.gov.la/download/contentfiles/ແບບຟອມຂໍນຳເຂົ້າອາຫານ.pdf)
Where to apply
The government administers food centrally and entrusts the Ministry of Health with direct responsibility (Food Law, Art. 66). For registration: industrial plants and imported food are decided by the Food and Drug Department (Agreement, Art. 18), and family-scale workshops by that department together with the provincial and capital health departments (Art. 19); the application form is prescribed by the Food and Drug Department (Art. 8.1). Provincial and municipal health departments (Art. 68), district health offices (Art. 69) and village health committees (Art. 70) take part within their remits. Transit approval goes to the ministry or the provincial or municipal health department (Art. 36).
Procedure
- First fix your tier: industrial plant, family-scale workshop or imported food, with conditions in Arts. 6, 7 and 13 and documents in Arts. 8, 10 and 14
- An industrial plant needs the food business licence first: Art. 6.1 makes it a precondition of registration
- Arrange the food and drug inspector visit early: all three sets need the inspector site record, which you cannot produce yourself
- Get the laboratory report: domestic food goes to the national centre or a recognised laboratory (Art. 27) while imported food needs an English certificate from the exporting country regulator or a recognised laboratory (Art. 14.2)
- After filing: forty-five working days for industrial plants and imports, thirty for family-scale workshops; incomplete files are notified within ten working days and you have thirty to return them (Arts. 18 and 19). Then watch the validity and renew ninety days before expiry (Art. 20), and notify any change of premises or details separately (Art. 21)
Statutory time limit
Review times (Agreement, Arts. 18 and 19): forty-five working days for industrial plants and imported food, thirty for family-scale workshops, both counted from a correct and complete file. Incomplete files are notified within ten working days and returned within thirty. Validity (Art. 20): three years for an industrial plant meeting GMP, GHP or HACCP, two years for other industrial plants and for imported food, and two years for family-scale workshops, with renewal filed ninety days before expiry. The Food Law gives no periods for transit or advertising approval and none is invented here.
Common questions and pitfalls
- Do not read only the Food Law: the procedure and documents sit in the Food Registration Agreement (revised, 2023)
- The three tiers have different clocks: forty-five working days for industrial and imported, thirty for family-scale (Arts. 18 and 19)
- Validity differs too and depends on your certification: three years for an industrial plant meeting GMP, GHP or HACCP and otherwise two, with imports and family-scale workshops at two (Art. 20)
- Renewal must be ninety days ahead (Art. 20), and the renewal set is a subset the article itself lists, so the full set need not be redone
- The inspector site record cannot be self-produced: all three sets need it, so book the inspection in advance
- An industrial plant needs the food business licence first (Art. 6.1 makes it a precondition), so an enterprise registration alone is not enough
- Who may register imported food is restricted: a food or pharmaceutical import-export company established in Laos (Art. 13.1)
- The abbreviations in Art. 8.10 differ between versions: the Chinese says GMP or GHP while the Lao original says GHP or GAP, so confirm at the counter rather than guessing
15 items to fill in