IN Brief:
- Vietnam has opened a revised food safety framework for comment after suspending Decree 46.
- Oversight would be split more clearly between ministries and local authorities.
- The draft also includes incentives for investment in food safety technology, GMP, HACCP, ISO 22000, and cold chain systems.
Vietnam Food Administration is moving forward with a revised framework for the country’s food safety law after the troubled rollout of Decree 46 exposed major bottlenecks across inspection, testing, and import clearance.
The revised approach points towards a more decentralised model of oversight, with responsibility divided more clearly between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and local authorities. Under the current draft, the Ministry of Industry and Trade would take responsibility for categories including alcoholic beverages, beer, soft drinks, processed milk, vegetable oils, and processed flour and starch products, while local authorities would oversee smaller operators, foodservice, and local markets.
The shift follows months of disruption after the January attempt to tighten food safety procedures led to severe delays and trade friction, with products held up while laboratories, staff, and administrative systems struggled to absorb the new requirements. The revised framework also goes beyond enforcement, setting out possible incentives for investment in food safety and production technology, including support linked to GMP, HACCP, ISO 22000, technology transfer, and centralised cold chain development.
That leaves manufacturers and importers watching two timelines at once: the short-term handling of the suspended decree and the longer legislative rewrite expected later in 2026. Either way, Vietnam appears to be moving towards a more structured and more demanding compliance model, even if the transition is now likely to be slower.
