November 2006
Extract from the Report of the 15th Session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Asia, Seoul , Korea , 21 - 24 November 2006 (See http://www.codexalimentarius.net/download/report/664/al30_15e.pdf )
The Vietnam National Codex Committee, established in 1994, is chaired by the Minister of Science and Technology. Vietnam began to use Codex standards as national standards in 1996 on a voluntary basis. They will be used as mandatory standards in 2006 and included in legal regulations by the relevant ministries. Vietnam has accepted Codex standards fully or partly according to the circumstances in the country. The main areas covered by this harmonisation are additives, contaminants and pesticide MRLs, milk and milk products, fishery products, fruits and vegetables.
2001
The ministries involved in the food control system in Viet Nam are the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, Food Industry, Staple Food, Home Trade and Foreign Trade. The Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Ministry of Health is the government agency directly involved in ensuring the safety of the country's food safety services.
There are three sections under the Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Ministry of Health. These are the Hygiene Section, the Epidemiology Section and the Administration Section. The Hygiene Section is in charge of food safety, occupational health, school hygiene and environmental health. The Epidemiology Section is in charge of statistics, immunization, epidemiology, and epidemiological surveillance, except food and pesticide poisoning. The Administration Section is in charge of the provincial and district stations, the disease reporting system including food poisoning statistics, planning, training, the supervision of national and regional institutions, and the preparation of legislation.
Forty provincial stations of hygiene and epidemiology are responsible for all hygiene and epidemiology activities in the country. The stations operate under the supervision of the Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology and the advice of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology. To facilitate management and administrative activities, four regional institutes have also been established, the Nhatrang Pasteur, the Tay Nguyen Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute and the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Hygiene.
Provincial stations report cases of outbreaks of food poisoning to the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Ministry of Health and the regional institute. Serious food poisoning cases, which cannot be resolved at the provincial level, are referred to the regional institute.
The National Institute of Nutrition has three departments. Department of Food Analysis analyses components of food, studies new foods, and carries out chemical quality control of food. Department of Food Toxicology evaluates health effects of toxins, food additives and environmental contaminants in food. Department of Food Microbiology conducts microbiological quality control of food and applied microbiology. A variety of equipment and instruments are available for food analysis but some are outdated.
The basic provisions for food safety are contained in the Law for Hygiene and Health Care which includes sections on administration, hygiene and Infectious diseases, hygiene of products, food safety, including water, hygiene in schools, hygiene in houses, and environmental hygiene.
In regard to food standards, the National Standards and Methods for Chemical Components has prepared recommendations for the percentage of moisture, protein, fat, glucoside, carbohydrates, vitamins, and other components in various foods including cereals, cassava, beans, vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, shellfish, milk, and other products.
Information last updated - January 2007