Vietnam Greenlights Self-Certification of Imported Food

Decree 15 issued by Vietnam Food Administration entered into force in Feb. 2018 (read CL news here), under which enterprises can now self-verify the origin and quality of imported food, and confirm the regulatory compliance of the products.

Previously, all imported food, food additives and food processing ingredients were subject to mandatory safety and quality inspection. Decree 15 minimizes the batches of food to be tested and now approximately 95% of imported foods are exempt from inspection. However, MOH registration is still required for some special food prior to import, including medicinal health food for infants under 36 months, dietary supplements, and nutrition food.

In addition, customs inspection has shortened from 7 to 3 working days, and further technical inspection has also been reduced from 10 to 7 working days.