Mechanisms for Enhancing the Efficiency of the Food Product Regulatory System of the Provincial Public Health Office to Provide Additional Authority in the Regions

Abstract

Background: The Thai Food and Drug Administration (Thai FDA) is responsible for ensuring that consumers are safe, worthwhile, and profitable through onsite audits and considers food products to comply with the Food Act B.E. 2522. This includes developing laws, standards, and regulations that are internationally aligned and appropriate for the situation, controlling, inspecting, supervising, and monitoring food, food establishments, and advertising to ensure compliance with the law. In order to cover the entire country, the Thai FDA has delegated authority to provincial governors and the Office of Provincial Public Health Offices (PPHO) to carry out work in their respective areas, covering both pre-market and post-market activities. The focus is on convenience, speed, and alignment with the context of the area. The development of such a mechanism requires the development of both the FDA and the PPHO. To ensure that this development is effective, there is a need to review and analyse data on the situation and operations to identify problems, obstacles, and limitations of operations under the current delegation of authority order and to find solutions to the problems in order to expand the scope of delegation of authority to enforce the food law to provincial governors and assign officials as licensees to ensure flexibility in operations.

Objectives: To find out the situation, problems, and limitations of both pre-market and post-market activities in the PPHO and to propose a mechanism to enhance the efficiency of food safety surveillance in both pre-market and post-market of the PPHO.

Method: This research was qualitative and studied from December 2023 To May 2024 It was a purposive sampling of 14 people among PPHO officials who had over 10 years of work-experience in 13 provinces in the North, North-east, Central Region, and South that had a supplement food factor in the area. Additionally, the Director of the Rural and Local Consumer Health Product Protection and Promotion Division office at Thai FDA was included in the study. The research interviewed the samples by issuing a questionnaire. 

Results: From the interviews, it was found that 100% of the sample group believed that delegating authority to provinces would facilitates operations and enhances business efficiency more than centralizing power. Additionally, 85.72% of respondents believed that delegating authority allows the PPHO to manage according to the specific local context and operate more comprehensively across all areas. Meanwhile, regarding further delegation of authority in the future, the interviewees believed that granting comprehensive authority will enhance consumer protection, as it allows for easier management within the area. In addition, the top five major problems and obstacles found in the operations were: (1) the staff lacked expertise in food technology and legal knowledge by 100%; (2) the staff lacked a clear understanding that can be applied to their work by 100%; (3) the services provided were not standardized; (4) there were delays in granting permissions because authority was given only to senior provincial executives; and (5) the budget was insufficient for operations at 85.71, 71.24, and 57.41, respectively. Furthermore, there were proposals to enhance the efficiency of the food product regulatory system of the PPHO to provide additional authority in the regions in six mechanisms: (1) formulate policies with the participation of the PPHO and ensure communication throughout the organization; (2) legislate  laws with the involvement of PPHO staff; (3) delegate authority to the provinces to permit all types of food production that located within their responsible area; (4) communicate guidelines and guidelines in post-market surveillance and increase staffing for positions such as a Food and Drug Technical Officer and Legal Officers; (5) develop a database system and integrate it with the post-market surveillance system and academic knowledge database for staff; and (6) build a regulatory network including education networks in the region to educate entrepreneurs and the public. Also, establish a consumer network for food safety monitoring and educating the public.

Conclusions: Important situations and problems depended on the knowledge and expertise of personnel in the region. The granting of comprehensive authorisation in the future will provide more comprehensive consumer protection. There were proposals for increasing the efficiency of the working mechanism, including policy setting, legal development, improving SOP citizens's guidelines for granting permission, and establishing guidelines for post-market governance operations. In addition, there should be a database system and information linkage that is accurate and complete, including cooperation with government networks, the private sector, and consumer networks. both academic and law enforcement to achieve work that covers all dimensions and is efficient.