Tightening Food Safety Regulations for E-commerce and Social Media in New Law Draft
The draft Law on Food Safety (amended) proposes increased management responsibility, post-market surveillance, and transparency in digital advertising.
Notably, the draft introduces several provisions to increase the responsibilities of sellers, e-commerce platforms, social networks, and online food delivery services in controlling food safety, managing advertising content, and ensuring traceability.
According to Dr. Chu Quoc Thinh, Director of the Vietnam Food Administration (VFA), the draft Law on Food Safety (amended) aims to reform management methods, reduce administrative procedures, and shift significantly from pre-market approval to post-market surveillance based on risk analysis and compliance history.
The draft defines three forms of product declaration management: product declaration registration, product standard declaration, and exemption from registration for specific cases. Specialized products such as health supplements for the elderly, children under 36 months, pregnant women, or products supporting disease treatment remain in the mandatory registration category.
For facilities already certified with standards such as HACCP or ISO 22000, the draft proposes recognizing these certificates to reduce procedural burdens. Simultaneously, regulatory authorities will intensify post-market surveillance and implement strict penalties, including the revocation of licenses for unsafe products.
Alongside management reforms, the draft tightens advertising responsibilities. Enterprises are held accountable for the accuracy of their filings; it strictly prohibits using the images of medical professionals or testimonials from patients to advertise food products that could mislead consumers about their functions and benefits.
In the digital sphere, sellers on e-commerce platforms must provide full legal documentation regarding food safety. Intermediary platforms are responsible for establishing product moderation mechanisms before listing and creating channels for consumer feedback.
Dr. Thinh emphasized that food safety management will rely on a digital database integrated from the central to local levels. This system facilitates risk analysis across the entire supply chain, from farming and processing to distribution, enabling consumers to easily track product origins via QR codes and barcodes.
