Vietnam’s Draft Food Safety Law Raises Five Major Business Concerns
The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry says businesses remain concerned about product declarations, risk analysis, registration requirements, import inspections and transitional provisions in the draft revised Food Safety Law. They warn that some provisions could increase pre-market procedures and compliance costs and delay imports and business operations.
After consulting businesses and industry associations, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) said businesses support revising the Food Safety Law but see five major issues in the draft: product declarations, risk analysis, the scope and documentation of registration, import inspections and transitional arrangements. VCCI called for regulation to focus on actual risks throughout the production chain and for stronger post-market inspections.
Five major business concerns about Vietnam’s draft revised Food Safety Law.（VietVance）
On product declarations, the draft says products may circulate only after the competent authority receives the required documents. VCCI said implementing regulations allowing authorities to request additional documents could turn “receipt” into pre-market approval and leave imported goods waiting at ports. Businesses propose allowing products onto the market as soon as documents are submitted, with businesses responsible for product safety. VCCI also noted that although the draft classifies foods by risk, it does not directly use risk analysis results to determine the applicable procedures. Businesses propose using those results to set the level of pre-market inspection while maintaining existing risk-based management measures.
Businesses worry that the draft’s definitions of categories such as health supplements could expand the range of products requiring registration. Draft implementing regulations would increase the number of required documents from 5 to 14 and extend the review period from 7 to 90 days. Businesses estimate that the stability study requirement could add about VND 500 million to the cost of each product. They propose clearer classification criteria, fewer document requirements and re-registration only when there is a fundamental change to a product’s nature, safety or intended benefits.
For imports, businesses say requiring a notice of satisfactory inspection results for every shipment could undermine the current reduced-inspection mechanism, under which at most 5% of shipments are checked each year. The draft would also broaden requirements to register exporting countries and exporters. Businesses warn that this could add steps to customs clearance and affect manufacturers that depend on imported ingredients and packaging. They propose determining inspection methods according to product risk and businesses’ compliance records.
The transitional provisions set deadlines of 24 and 36 months. According to a report cited in the original article, nearly 400,000 products are currently in circulation in Vietnam. If the relevant procedures must be completed within 24 months, authorities would need to process nearly 800 applications per working day. VCCI proposes a uniform 36-month transition period, preserving the validity of existing documents and removing the two-year limit on using printed labels.
Source: VietVance
