Tighten management to ensure food safety

(Chinhphu.vn) - The Government Office has just issued Notice No. 520/TB-VPCP dated September 29, 2025, concluding the conclusion of Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long at the meeting of the Central Inter-sectoral Steering Committee on food safety.

Tighten management to ensure food safety

The announcement stated: Since the beginning of 2025, food safety management has continued to receive leadership and direction from all sectors and levels, achieving better results than in the previous period. The Ministry of Health and relevant ministries and sectors have made great efforts and focused on building management institutions; ministries, sectors and localities have basically performed well their assigned functions and tasks, continued to strengthen inspection, examination and supervision of food safety implementation, and promoted information and propaganda. The coordination program between the Government - Vietnam Farmers' Union - Vietnam Women's Union continues to be implemented effectively. Food safety management activities continue to receive attention from the people and society.

However, food safety management still has some limitations and shortcomings. The construction and improvement of institutions are still slow. There are still many cases of law violations, causing public outrage. Some management activities have not been properly understood and handled; the implementation of some agencies is still not proactive and effective, in which food safety management has not yet promptly adapted to the organization and operation of the two-level government at the local level.

Strengthen surprise inspections and resolutely handle profiteering behaviors.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested that in the coming time, ministries, agencies and localities, according to their functions, tasks and authority, continue to effectively organize the implementation of tasks and management solutions to ensure food safety according to the provisions of relevant laws and the direction of the Government and the Prime Minister, including continuing to improve the effectiveness of food safety work; proactively increase surprise inspections, resolutely handle acts of profiteering, taking advantage and violations; urgently focus on building and promulgating a system of standards and technical regulations on food safety in the sectors and fields assigned to manage and publicly announce them.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Industry and Trade to urgently complete the task of building a database on goods; the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to proactively build a food database in the assigned management areas, ensuring connectivity in accordance with the direction of the Prime Minister in Directive No. 13/CT-TTg dated May 17, 2025 on strengthening the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment presides over and coordinates with the Vietnam Farmers' Union and the Vietnam Women's Union to summarize the implementation of the Coordination Program between the Government and the Vietnam Farmers' Union and the Vietnam Women's Union on propaganda and mobilization of production and trading of quality and safe agricultural products and food for community health and sustainable development in the period of 2021 - 2025, to be completed in December 2025.

Focus on building food safety management documents

Regarding institutional building, the Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Health to preside over and coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to focus on the development of legal documents on food safety management, ensuring quality, progress and proper implementation of the requirements directed by the Government and the Prime Minister on institutional building.

Regarding the draft Decree replacing Decree 15/2018/ND-CP and the Draft Resolution of the Government on the announcement and registration of food products, the Ministry of Health urgently completes the submission dossier in accordance with regulations, reports to the Government for direct discussion on both Drafts at the upcoming Government Meeting, in which it is necessary to carefully assess the impact of policies, especially the impact of increasing administrative procedures (if any) to tighten management and ensure food safety; present coherently, transparently, with evidence and convincing arguments for proposals on management mechanisms (such as switching from post-control to pre-control, increasing requirements for people and businesses, etc.), including forecasting the reactions of manufacturers; design appropriate transitional provisions when changing management mechanisms.

Increase the frequency of post-audits

Regarding post-inspection, the Deputy Prime Minister requested relevant ministries and agencies to proactively review and complete necessary regulations and instructions and organize to strengthen and increase the frequency of post-inspection to ensure effectiveness; complete the system of technical standards and regulations; strengthen coordination and mobilize functional agencies such as the Inspectorate and the Police to participate, ensuring timeliness, effectiveness and compliance with regulations.

The Ministry of Health urgently researches and has specific regulations and guidelines on the content of activities, post-inspection work, and periodic inspections.

Perfecting the state management apparatus on food safety

Regarding the orientation of state management of food safety, the Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Environment, and Industry and Trade, according to their functions, tasks, and authority, to review and unify regulations on consistent decentralization and transitional regulations, ensuring that decentralized agencies have enough time to access, transition, and arrange resources for effective implementation.

The Ministry of Health shall preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs and relevant agencies to urgently study and clearly define the responsibilities and management authority for food safety of commune-level authorities (health care system, commune-level health stations) in conjunction with the implementation of Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW dated September 9, 2025 on a number of breakthrough solutions to strengthen the protection, care and improvement of people's health; on that basis, define and decentralize the functions, tasks and authorities of each agency in accordance with management requirements.

At the same time, the Ministry of Health shall preside over and coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to urgently study and promptly report to the Prime Minister on the issue of perfecting the state management apparatus on food safety in the direction of unifying only one focal point to perform the task of ensuring food security and safety from the central to local levels according to the direction of the Secretariat in Directive No. 17-CT/TTg dated October 21, 2022 to serve as a basis for proposing related contents in the Draft Law on Food Safety (amended). The Ministry of Home Affairs shall closely coordinate with the Ministry of Health in performing this task.

Phuong Nhi

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/siet-chat-quan-ly-bao-dam-an-toan-thuc-pham-102250929160608132.htm