Food Safety Laws, Regulations, and Standards
What the exam tests
Expect questions on who regulates what in the Philippines, the legal duties of food businesses and handlers, and the standards that apply.
Legal framework
- RA 10611, Food Safety Act of 2013: the overarching law; assigns responsibilities across the Department of Agriculture, Department of Health, FDA and local government units, and promotes farm-to-fork food safety.
- PD 856, Code on Sanitation: covers sanitation of food establishments, water, waste and food handler health certificates.
- RA 9711, FDA Act of 2009: FDA regulates processed food products, registration, labelling and advertising; it does not inspect every restaurant.
- RA 7394, Consumer Act: protects consumers against unsafe products and misleading labels.
- Local ordinances: business permits, sanitary permits and food handler health certificates are issued by the LGU/health office.
Food businesses must have a business permit, sanitary permit, potable water, approved waste disposal and trained food handlers. High-risk establishments must implement HACCP-based systems. Traceability and recall procedures are required, and food must not be sold past expiry or with false claims.
Worked example
A small restaurant has no sanitary permit and a cook with no health certificate. An inspector finds expired canned goods. Which authority applies? The LGU health office handles the permit and food handler certificate; the expired product is a food safety violation enforced under local and national rules. If the canned goods were repacked and mislabelled, FDA jurisdiction would also apply.
Traps that cost marks
- Thinking FDA licenses every food business.
- Treating a health certificate as optional or permanent.
- Confusing HACCP with a certificate rather than a system.
- Ignoring local permits because a national law exists.