Government Accelerates Food Safety Management in Digital Environments and Amendments to the Food Safety Law
The Government mandates the finalization of the Food Safety Law (amended), focusing on strict e-commerce management, post-market inspection, and food traceability.
At the recent government session, authorities discussed and provided feedback on the draft Food Safety Law (amended). The Government emphasized the importance of institutionalizing Party guidelines on food safety management while ensuring consistency with the Product Quality Law and the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations.
The Government mandates that the drafting body must complete a risk-based management mechanism, strengthening post-market inspections and product traceability. Notably, the draft law must include specific provisions to regulate food business operations in digital environments and e-commerce platforms. This is a critical requirement as online food trading is growing rapidly but poses significant risks regarding product quality and origin.
Furthermore, the Government directed an increase in the effectiveness of alerts, recalls, and the handling of unsafe food products. Administrative procedures for declaration, registration, and laboratory testing need to be simplified and made more transparent to facilitate business operations. Regarding the management model, the Government aims to consolidate the food safety regulatory agencies from the central to local levels under a single unified authority.
Regarding the draft Law on Donation, Removal, and Transplantation of Human Tissues and Organs (amended), the Government also requested research on adding regulations concerning the collection, management, and use of plasma. These provisions must ensure alignment with the Constitution and international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory, while protecting individual self-determination and dignity in tissue and organ donation activities.