Vietnam drafts food safety law raising fines to 2 billion VND

A draft amendment to Vietnam's Food Safety Law proposes a maximum administrative fine of 2 billion VND for organisations and 1 billion VND for individuals, roughly ten times the current caps. The proposal also adds specific bans on misleading nutrition advertising, use of unsafe or unapproved ingredients, and other practices that could endanger public health.

The Ministry of Health is preparing the draft, aiming to strengthen deterrence and protect consumers. Experts note that while higher penalties could improve compliance, they must be enforceable and proportionate to the size and revenue of businesses to be effective.