Understanding Vietnamese laws and regulations concerning food can be a challenge. The confusion results from the lack of a unified food law. While the government relies on general laws to regulate the quality of goods, including food, there are also specific regulations that apply to food products. This means that there are two sets of rules--one covering goods in general and the other covering food products--and they often overlap.

The major laws on the subject are the Law on the Quality of Products and Goods[1] (“LoQPG”) and the Law on Food Safety[2] (“LoFS”). The former states that “[t]he State shall implement a uniform system to control the quality of goods.”[3] However, “in cases where international treaties, to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party, contain provisions which differ from the Law, the international treaties shall prevail.”^[4]

The LoQPG came into effect on 1 July 2008 and replaced the Ordinance on the Quality of Goods. It provides that manufacturers and traders must take responsibility for the quality of the goods or products that they manufacture or trade, in order to ensure safety for humans, animals, plants, property, and the environment, and to enhance the productivity, quality, and competitiveness of Vietnamese goods and products.^[5] It further defines ‘goods’ and ‘products’, which essentially cover food.

The LoFS, with effect from 1 July 2011, replaced the Ordinance on the Hygiene and Safety of Foods. Mainly, it describes the rights and obligations of organizations and individuals with respect to food safety; conditions to ensure the safety of food for manufacturing, doing business in food, and importing or exporting food; advertising and labeling food; testing food; analyzing threats to food safety; and protecting, preventing, and overcoming breakdowns in food safety.^[6]

The LoQPG gives the Ministry of Science and Technology (“MOST”) overall responsibility for the quality of goods, including foods, while the LoFS assigns responsibility for the safety of food to the Ministry of Health (“MOH”), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (“MARD”), and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (“MOIT”).

What is Food?

The LoFS defines “foods” as follows: “Foods are products which human beings eat and drink in their fresh, raw, processed or preserved forms. Foods do not include cosmetics, tobacco, and medicinal products.”^[7] There are sub-definitions of different types of food, including fresh food, nutritional food, functional food, genetically modified food, irradiated food, street food, and packaged food.

Those sub-definitions are as follows:

“Fresh food” is unprocessed food including meat, eggs, fish, aquatic products, vegetables, fresh fruits, and other unprocessed foods.^[8]

“Nutritional food” is food supplemented with vitamins, mineral substances, and serum antioxidant micro-minerals in order to prevent the community or a particular group in the community from a shortage of vitamins, substances, and microminerals.^[9]

“Functional food” is food used to support the operation of body organs, creates comfort for the body, increases resistance, and reduces pathogenic dangers. It consists of food supplements, health protective food, and medically nutritious food.^[10] Detailed regulations on functional foods are provided in the MOH’s Circular 43/2014/TT-BYT dated 24November 2014.

“Genetically modified food” is food which consists of one or more materials which have been genetically modified.^[11]

“Irradiated food” is food radiated by a form of radioactivity to preserve and prevent food from degenerating.^[12] Detailed regulations on irradiated foods are provided in the MOH’s Decision 3616/2004/QD-BYT dated 14 October 2004.

“Street food” is a ready-to-eat food or beverage. It is obtained from a vendor, sold on street sides, in public, or in similar places.^[13]

“Packaged food” is completely packaged and labeled food, which may be eaten or processed further.^[14]

Food Safety

All individuals and entities that want to produce and to trade foods must assure that their foods are safe. In other words, the foods must conform to the relevant technical specifications and meet limit requirements for pathogenic microorganisms, residues of plant protection drugs or veterinary drugs, heavy metals, contaminants, and other substances in food that may cause harm to human life and health. In addition, subject to the type of food, food must comply with one or more of the regulations on (i) use of food additives and processing aids in food production and trading; (ii) food packaging and labeling; and (iii) food preservation.[15]   

The quality of goods and products is managed on the basis of applicable announcement standards and technical specifications.^[16] The system of Vietnamese standards includes national standards (“TCVN”) and standards applied voluntarily by businesses and individuals (“TCCS”).^[17] Vietnamese standards are based on international, regional, and foreign standards. Also included are the outcomes of scientific and technological research projects, technical progress, factual experience, and the results of evaluations, tests, experiments, inspections, and appraisals.^[18] 

At one time, all goods were subject to quality “registration”. That is, the State required individuals and organizations that produced and traded goods to follow certain quality standards. Foods were no exception. Foods had to be registered with the MOH. The registration included information such as: a list of standards with which the food products must comply; a chart showing the stages of food product processing from storage of raw materials through the processing stage and ultimately to storage and delivery of the finished product; a final or draft version of the label; instructions and warranties; test results for the food product issued by an authorized government test centre; and a list of all raw materials used to process a food product, including additives and packing materials. The MOH had the power to reject an application for registration.

However, under the LoQPG, individuals and organizations that produce and trade in goods, including foods, are required only to “announce”, rather than “register”, their own quality standards. Under the LoFS, producers and traders must decide and announce the standards of their foods. That is, they are able, themselves, to decide the standard of their goods. Of course, such standards must satisfy applicable Vietnamese standards or industry standards. Accordingly, the prior authoritarian role of the State regarding the quality standards of goods, including food, has been changed into voluntary commitments by entities to set and to comply with their own standards.

Producers and traders of packaged food, additives, food process supporting substances, packing materials, and food containers (“Products” for short) are required to announce that their Products conform to relevant technical specifications.. Under Decree 38[19], the announcement must be registered with a competent authority, i.e. the MOH or the DOH before production and trade of the Products can be initiated. While this may seem like a reasonable approach in terms of food safety, this regulation usually hindered producers and traders from getting their Products into the market as it could take up to four weeks before their announcement was approved.

With the introduction of Decree 15^[20] which has replaced Decree 38, procedures to announce Products have been greatly streamlined. Producers and traders of Products[21] are now only required to self-announce their Products on public media and with the appropriate authority under the local People’s Committee. Self-announcement of Products in Decree 15 is different from the announcement of the Products under Decree 38. Whereas Decree 38 required approval from the authorities, Decree 15 does not. After Products are self-announced, they can be immediately produced and/or circulated into the market. Some products, however, do require an additional registration step[22].. Decree 15 has significantly decreased the gap between announcement and production/trade of a Product while it still holds producers and traders responsible for dealing in Products that conform with technical specifications and food safety regulations.

 Self-Announcement of Products

The dossier to self-announce Products includes one self-announcement using Form 01 provided in Annex I of Decree 15 and a valid food safety evaluation report (“Evaluation Report”). The report must be no more than 12 months old and have been issued by an ISO 17025 accredited laboratory. The report must test either (i) the criteria provided by the MOH in accordance with internationally compatible risk management principles or (ii) safety criteria in accordance with equivalent standards, specifications provided by an organization or individual, in case there are no regulations from the MOH.

The dossier must be published on public media or on the website of the producer or trader, which website announces the product. It must then be submitted to the authority designated by the provincial People’s Committee. The name of the traders, producers and their products must be published on the website of the receiving authority.

Registration of Self-announcement of Products

Registration of self-announcement of products is required for products in one of the following categories:

(i)        health protective foods[23];

(ii)        medical nutrition foods[24], foods for special diet[25];

(iii)      nutritious products for under-36-month children; and

(iv)      mixed food additives[26] with new functions, and food additives, which are not on a list of s allowed food additives[27] or are not regulated by the MOH.

Producers and traders of products in categories (i) and (iv) must register their self-announcement with the MOH. Producers and traders of products in categories (ii) and (iii) must register their self-announcement with the authority designated by the provincial People’s Committee. A complete dossier to self-announce a product includes the following documents:

(i)        Announcement of products following Form 02 Annex I of Decree 15;

(ii)        Certificate of Free Sale or Certificate of Exportation for the free sale of products in the importing country; if the products are imported or if Health Certification issued by a competent authority in the exporting country guarantees the safety of the user of the products;

(iii)       An Evaluation Report;

(iv)       Published scientific evidence proving the effects or the ingredients of the products;

(v)        Certificate of satisfaction of food safety conditions as required by Good Manufacturing Practices ("GMP”). An equivalent certificate may be substituted if the product is health protective food. This requirement takes effect on 1 July, 2019; and

(vi)       Certificate of satisfaction of food safety conditions, if the product is manufactured domestically.

After the dossier is submitted to the authorities, within 21 days for health protective foods and 7 days for certain mixed food additives, the authorities will examine the dossier and issue the appropriate receipt.

Labelling

Decree 43/2017/ND-CP of the Government dated 14 April 2017 on the Labeling of Goods (“Decree 43”) made some significant changes to the previous legislation, Decree 89/2006/ND-CP of the Government dated 30 August 2006 on the Labeling of Goods (“Decree 89”). Decree 43 applies to goods circulated in Vietnam, including imported and domestically manufactured products.[28] Significant changes involving Products have been made. For example, requirements for auxiliary labels for products, ingredients, which are produced or imported especially for the production, processing of export goods have been dropped.

Labels are defined as “inscriptions, prints, drawings, images, or signs that are imprinted or embossed directly on or affixed, stuck, or pinned firmly to goods or their packaging to display necessary and principal information about such goods.”[29] In addition, goods labeling is defined as the “inscription of necessary and principal information about the goods in order for consumers to identify goods, and have a basis to select, consume and use goods. Producers and traders may use the labels to provide information about and to advertise their goods. Labels also permit functional bodies to conduct inspection and supervision.”^[30]

Decree 43 requires domestically circulated foods, including imported foods, to bear labels, except for unpacked fresh and raw foodstuffs and processed foodstuffs that are sold directly to consumers.[31] Labels may include both compulsory and non-compulsory information. The compulsory contents are mandatory and contain the most important information. Regulations on compulsory contents for all domestically circulated goods labels, whether manufactured in Vietnam or imported to Vietnam, are provided in Decree 43. To date, implementing regulations have not yet been issued. However, detailed and specific requirements on the compulsory content of some particular goods labels are provided in the law. See the attached Schedule.

The general compulsory contents of a label for all goods include:

• Name of the goods: manufacturers or traders of goods may choose a name for their goods, provided that the name does not mislead consumers as to the nature and use of the goods. Manufacturers or traders are liable for the name they choose. The name of the products or goods must be legibly and prominently recorded, and must be larger than the other compulsory contents on the label.[32]
• Names and addresses of the entities which produced, imported, assembled, or finished the goods;^[33]
• Country of origin (applicable to both imported and domestically produced goods);^[34]

Labels of foods are required to have the following additional contents::

• Quantity^[35] measured in units recognized by Vietnamese law. These units are described in Schedule II of the Decree;

• List of ingredients in descending order of weight.[36] If an ingredient contains preservatives, which must be used in a prescribed dosage, which may cause allergens, or which may be harmful to humans, animals, or the environment, the names of the preservatives must be included together with the names of such ingredients.^[37]

• Specifications and warnings: If foodstuffs are labeled with nutritional value, the labels must indicate the range of nutritional value according to relevant regulations and applied standards. An average value may be used instead.[38]

• Production date, expiration date, and shelf-life of goods;^[39] and

• Storage and usage instructions.^[40]

Decree 43 requires that all letters, numerals, drawings, images, signs, and/or marks that appear on the label must be clear and must accurately reflect the properties of the goods. They must not be ambiguous or cause confusion with other products. Labels that are not clearly visible may be seen as an administrative violation.

The color of the text of compulsory contents must contrast with the background color of the label.^[41] Goods distributed in Vietnam must be labeled in the Vietnamese language, except for contents that are presented in their Latin origin.^[42] However, depending on the requirements of each type of goods, a foreign language may be added in equal or smaller print.^[43] The Vietnamese language must appear on imported goods either on the original label or on a secondary label. A Vietnamese language label must be attached to the goods before they are put on sale or distributed.^[44]

The individual or organization responsible for labeling the goods shall determine the size of the label and the size of the font. They must be large enough for all compulsory contents to be clearly visible. Prepackaged food, food additives, or food processing aids must have all the compulsory information in 1.2 mm or larger font. If the area for labeling the product is less than 80cm², the height of words must not be less than 0.9mm.^[45]

According to Decree 43 and Decree 15, in addition to the compulsory contents listed above, specific foods must have particular information on their labels:

• Health protective food: Labels must indicate risk warnings (if any), the phrase “health protective food” and the disclaimer “The foodstuff is not medicine and cannot replace medicine.”[46]

• Irradiated food: Warnings and the phrase “Irradiated food” must appear.[47]

• Genetically modified food: Labeling “Genetically modified food” or “genetically modified” beside the name of the genetically modified ingredients, enclosed with their contents.[48]

• Liquor: Labels must indicate alcohol content (ethanol) and lot number (if any).[49]

• Food additives: Labels must specify their categories, names and International Numbering System (INS) Code (if there is one); additives which are flavorings, sweeteners or colorings must be additionally clarified to indicate whether they are “natural”, “nature-identical”, “synthetic”, or “artificial”.^[50] The phrase “Food additive” and appropriate warnings must also appear. [51]

• Micronutrients: labels must indicate “Used for food”.[52]

• Medical nutrition foods: labels must indicate “Medical nutrition food” and “Used for patients with supervision of medical personnel”.[53]

• Food for special diet: labels must indicate “Nutritious product (for specific subjects)”.[54]

Non-compulsory contents may appear on food labels, but they must not be contrary to the compulsory labeling requirements referred to above. Non-compulsory contents may be: number and barcodes granted by national number and barcode organizations; protected trademarks; medals; certificates of the product’s international quality standards; serial number of the production batch; international markings used for transport, use, and storage; foreign language information; and information that promotes the product.

Changes made to a registered food label or to the expiration date without the approval of the competent authority are strictly prohibited. 

Advertising

The Law on Advertisement No. 16/2012/QH13 of the National Assembly dated 21 June 2012 (“Law on Advertisement”), Decree 181/2013/ND-CP of the Government dated 14 November 2013 (“Decree 181”)[55]; and Circular 10/2013/TT-BVHTTDL of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (“MCST”) dated 6 December 2013 (“Circular 10”)[56] cover advertising in general. The contents of an advertisement of any goods, including food products, must be accurate and truthful, and must correctly reflect the form, quality, usage, label, design, classification, packing, origin, use date, preservation period, and warranty period of the goods. The advertisement must be in accordance with food labels and quality standards that the producer has announced to or registered with the relevant state agencies.^[57]

Detailed procedures to obtain advertising permits for food products and food additives are provided in Inter-Ministerial Circular 06/2007/TTLT-BVHTT-BYT-BNN-BXD dated 28 February 2007 (“Inter-Ministerial Circular 06”). The application dossier for an advertising permit must be filed with the provincial Department of Information and Communications (“DOIC”), and mainly includes the following:

• Application for a permit to advertise a product. The application must be made by an advertiser (the individual or the entity whose products are advertised) or, if the advertiser engages an advertising services firm to advertise the product, made by the advertising services firm as the advertiser’s agent;

• Copy of the Business Registration Certificate of the advertiser or the advertising services firm;

• Copy of the document showing that the goods conform with technical standards; and

• A color picture of the advertised product, signed by the advertiser.

An advertisement on billboards, placards, or panels requires written agreement from the Department of Construction (“DOC”).^[58]

In order to advertise a food product or food additive that is subject to examination for hygiene and safety, the advertiser must provide a copy of the Certificate of Hygiene and Safety Registration, along with a copy of the receipt from filing the application, in order to register the advertisement with the Food Hygiene and Safety Administration (“FHSA”).^[59] To advertise a food product or food additive, which is subject to announcement of hygiene and safety quality standards, the application to advertise must be accompanied by a copy of the company’s standards and the filing receipt.^[60]

The regulatory timeframe for the DOIC to issue an advertising permit varies from 5 to 15 working days, depending on the medium in which the advertisement will appear.^[61] 

Advertisements of tobacco, alcohol (concentration of alcohol being 15 percent or more); milk products replacing breast milk for under-24-month child, supplemental nutrition products for under-6-month old children, and feeding bottles and artificial teats; prescribed or non-prescribed medicine of which the usage must be restricted or be under supervision of a doctor; sexually stimulating products, sport guns and   cartridges, sport rifles and violently stimulating products are prohibited.^[62] In this regard, advertisements of some products, such as sanitary pads and condoms, which may constitute an inappropriate subject matter for public advertisement, will not be approved. Furthermore, advertisements which incorrectly state or mislead  the business capacity or ability to provide products of another organization/individual conducting business, or about the quantity, quality, price, usage, design, package, trademark, origin, type, method of serving or warranty period of products, goods or services which has been registered or declared, are prohibited.^[63]

An offshore producer with no establishment in Vietnam can advertise only through a Vietnamese advertising agency.[64]

Furthermore, under Articles 5 and 12 of Decree 181, the advertisement content of all foods and all food additives must be certified. Conditions and procedures for the certification of advertisement content must comply with Circular 09/2015/TT-BYT of the MOH dated 25 May 2015. Decree 15 requires that producers and traders must register with the appropriate authority, the advertisement contents for health protective foods, medical nutrition foods, foods for special diet and nutritional products for under-36-month children.[65] There are some exceptions.

 In addition, Circular 10 and in Article 8.11 of the Law on Advertisement, an advertising piece which contains a word/phrase such as “the only”, “the best”, “best”, “number one” or the like must be verified by a legitimate document. It can be a market research report prepared by a qualified market research organization or a certificate or the like, granted by a regional or national competition/exhibition organization which recognizes that the product in the advertising piece is “the only”, “the best”, “best”, “number one” or the like. The document is valid for only one year from its date of issue.

Recall

Under Decree 119/2017/ND-CP of the Government dated 1 November 2017 (“Decree 119”) on Administrative Sanctions against Violations in Standards, Measurements, and Quality of Products and Goods, the following goods are subject to recall:

• Imported or manufactured goods whose quality does not conform with a standard conformity certification, or circulating goods that are unsafe for consumers;^[66]

• Goods that violate applicable technical regulations;^[67]

• Goods in circulation that violate any quality standard;[68]

• Goods that violate labeling laws.^[69]

• Goods whose codes and barcodes contain Vietnam’s code (893), but the use of such code is not permitted; goods using recalled codes; and goods using codes purchased from another entity.[70]

• Goods with foreign codes which are produced, processed, packaged, extracted in Vietnam only for export if the use of such codes has not yet been allowed  by competent foreign agencies or their foreign owners; goods with markings that may be confused with codes or barcodes of competent authorities of Vietnam and GS1 (International code and barcode organization). ^[71]

Article 55 of the LoFS requires recall of the following foods:

• Expired foods that are in circulation;

• Foods that do not conform to applicable technical regulations;

• Foods created from new technology, the circulation of which is not allowed;

• Spoiled foods;

• Foods made of a prohibited substance or foods that contain polluting agents which exceed applicable limits;

• Imported foods that contain polluting agents which can cause personal injury and which have been identified publicly as harmful by the exporting country, by another country, or by any international organization.

This article also provides forms of recall, the handling of recalled foods, and the responsibilities of certain individuals, organizations, and competent State bodies in connection with the recall.

Under article 22 of the Law on Consumer Protection,[72] in case of a defective product, the business organization or individual with responsibility must publicly announce the recall of the defective product in five successive issues of a central daily newspapers or have the news of the recall broadcast on a central radio station or a central television station on five successive days. The announcement must include the following:

• Description of the product to be recalled;

• Reason for the recall and warnings of injury which may be caused by the defective product;

• Time, location, and form of the recall;

• Time and method to repair the defect; and

• Measures which should be taken to ensure that consumer interests are protected. 

The result of the recall must be reported to the appropriate provincial or central authorities.

Inspections

Under Decree 15, inspection of food is conducted by the MOH, the MARD, and the MOIT. The Government assigns certain governmental authorities the obligation to conduct safety inspection. The State has issued Decree 122[73]; it provides that the MOH is responsible for inspection of food products.

In general, food safety inspection is conducted by an inspection team or an individual inspector. The team or individual is tasked with: (1) investigating compliance with legislation on technical standards, food safety, advertisements and labeling, and certification of conformity, (2) imposing sanctions, and (3) applying or proposing, in accordance with its authority, measures to prevent or end a violation. Furthermore, the MOH may conduct an extraordinary inspection on the entire process of food production, import and export, and trading of food in certain cases as provided in Article 16 of Decree 122. [74]

The contents and conclusions of the inspection and all recommendations are made in an inspection report. The inspection report is central to resolving problems. The LoQPG states that organizations and individuals may lodge complaints with state agencies against an administrative decision or an act of an agency or officer which act they consider to be illegal and/or which infringes on their rights and interests.^[75]

Glossary

In this book, we define and abbreviate terms the first time that we use them. To make it easier to follow the text, we have prepared this Glossary.