When controversy erupted over the “Kera vegetable candy” by Chi Em Rot and the “collagen vegetable capsules” promoted by Ngan 98, it wasn’t authorities who sounded the alarm first.

Instead, it was social media users who investigated, shared evidence, and forced officials to act.

This is not post-market inspection by process - it’s post-market inspection by public pressure.

When the public becomes the inspector

In March 2025, a TikToker under the name S.T.A.C submitted samples of “Kera vegetable candy” for testing at the Quality Assurance and Standards Center 2.

The results revealed that 100g of the product contained only 0.51g of fiber – just 0.017g per candy, equivalent to a single spinach stem.

This directly contradicted the marketing claim that “one candy equals one plate of vegetables.”

Soon after, the creators of Kera were accused of misleading consumers.

The incident exposed major loopholes in the self-declaration and post-market inspection mechanism, especially for health-related products.

A nearly identical scenario unfolded with influencer Ngan 98 and her products under the labels X3, X7, X1000, and collagen vegetable capsules.

Amid a heated online spat between Ngan 98 and a rival, Ngan Collagen, a customer named H. sent a sample for lab testing and discovered it contained sibutramine - a banned substance known to cause cardiovascular and blood pressure complications.

These two incidents – and likely many more – highlight how Vietnam’s food safety system is reactive rather than proactive.

In both cases, it was citizens and journalists who did the work that should have been done by regulators.

The loophole is not in the policy itself

According to Decree 15/2018/ND-CP, companies producing functional foods only need to self-declare product standards and submit documentation to regulators before being allowed to sell their products.

Post-market inspection is expected to follow.

This is a progressive policy aimed at cutting red tape and encouraging business innovation.

However, in practice, the lack of effective post-market enforcement has turned this sound policy into a loophole ripe for exploitation.

Back in May, Tran Viet Nga, then Director of the Food Safety Authority (Ministry of Health), admitted:

“There are too few inspectors while tens of thousands of products are registered annually, allowing many low-quality or counterfeit products to slip through the cracks.”

She wasn’t wrong - but that’s only part of the problem.

In reality, inspections typically only occur after complaints arise.

Violators often face only modest fines – just a few hundred million VND (a few thousand USD) – which is negligible compared to the profit from selling tens of thousands of boxes.

It’s no wonder that many businesses see penalties as just a cost of doing marketing.

When violations are only uncovered by social media or citizen whistleblowers, it’s clear the system is trailing reality by more than a few steps.

When inspection fails, will we return to pre-approval licensing?

In her May interview, Tran Viet Nga proposed requiring businesses to seek formal approval before marketing health supplements, rather than allowing self-declaration.

But it must be emphasized: a few cases like Kera or Ngan 98 are not enough to justify scrapping the self-declaration model altogether.

Reverting to a “pre-approval” model would slow the market, revive bureaucratic bottlenecks, and discourage honest businesses.

What needs to change is not the policy, but its execution.

If post-market inspection doesn’t improve, then tightening pre-approval won't help either – counterfeit goods will still make it through, only with added costs.

Post-market inspection must be proactive and punitive

Inspection can’t be reduced to a few scheduled sample collections or mild written warnings.

What’s needed is an intelligent, proactive monitoring system — one with consequences.

Rather than waiting for consumer complaints, authorities should use technology to scan and detect misleading ads on social media — the most common battleground for shady supplement marketing.

At the same time, authorities should publish a searchable list of self-declared products, including the manufacturer, latest test date, and inspection status.

Most importantly, fines must be large enough to deter wrongdoing.

If profits exceed penalties by a hundredfold, all enforcement becomes meaningless.

The self-declaration and post-inspection model reflects a government that trusts and facilitates business.

But that trust must be supported by strong enforcement.

We can’t allow a few bad actors to poison the well for everyone.

Of course, good policies only have value when implemented with capability and accountability.

When people are forced to send their own products for testing, the issue is no longer just consumer safety - it’s a warning about a regulatory system starved of the very “nutrition” it needs: capacity, data, and willpower.

Policies may pave the way, but only execution can ensure that road doesn’t become a shortcut for fraudsters.

Dao Tuan