Vietnam's Ministry of Health has proposed a comprehensive overhaul of the country's food safety framework, introducing farm-to-table supply chain management, a nationwide digital information system and stricter oversight of food sold through e-commerce platforms.

The proposed amendments to the Food Safety Law would mark the first time Vietnam formally adopts an integrated supply chain approach to food safety management.

The ministry said the draft law is designed to modernize regulations enacted in 2010, which officials say have struggled to keep pace with rapid changes in food production, increasingly complex supply chains and the rapid expansion of online commerce.

From inspections to risk-based management

Dr. Chu Quoc Thinh, director of the Food Safety Authority under the Ministry of Health, said the revised law would fundamentally shift food safety management away from a system focused primarily on pre-market administrative inspections toward one based on real-world risk assessment, supply chain monitoring and digital technology.

"The core objective of this amendment is to prevent food contamination and food poisoning at the source," Thinh said. "By doing so, we can reduce the burden on the healthcare system, better protect public health and promote the sustainable development of safe food production and business."

Four major policy priorities

The draft legislation introduces four principal policy areas designed to address long-standing weaknesses in Vietnam's food safety system:

Risk-based food safety management across the entire supply chain.
Reform of regulatory oversight and food inspection mechanisms.
Digitalization through a nationwide interconnected food safety database.
Stronger management of street food vendors and institutional catering services.

According to Thinh, these measures are intended to replace fragmented oversight with an integrated system capable of monitoring food safety from production to consumption.

Three strategic breakthroughs

The draft law identifies three major structural reforms.

Farm-to-table oversight: Rather than regulating individual stages of food production separately, the proposal would establish continuous supervision throughout the entire supply chain.

Oversight would begin with farming, livestock production and harvesting before extending through slaughtering, processing, transportation, distribution and retail until products reach consumers.

For primary agricultural products, the draft law requires compliance with safety limits for pesticide residues, veterinary drug residues and environmental contaminants.

Officials say monitoring the entire production chain will help eliminate food safety risks before products enter the market.

Nationwide digital food safety system: A second key reform is the creation of an integrated national food safety information system built on digital data.

According to the ministry, the platform would shorten administrative processing times while improving food safety monitoring, incident response and product traceability.

Authorities would also be able to issue rapid nationwide alerts when food safety incidents occur and strengthen inspections of products circulating in the marketplace.

Stricter oversight of e-commerce: The draft law also proposes tighter regulation of food businesses operating online.

The Ministry of Health said it aims to strengthen accountability for companies and individuals selling food through digital platforms to ensure that e-commerce does not become a regulatory blind spot.

The proposal would reinforce traceability requirements while strengthening measures to detect and combat counterfeit and fraudulent food products.

More than 15 years after Vietnam's current Food Safety Law took effect, officials say the country's regulatory framework requires significant updating to reflect evolving production methods, changing consumer behavior and increasingly complex distribution networks.

The ministry believes the proposed reforms will improve prevention, enhance transparency and strengthen public confidence in food safety while supporting the development of safer and more sustainable food production.

N. Huyen