The health agency's proposal comes amid a resurgence of food poisoning incidents. In Quarter I/2026, the country recorded 36 poisoning cases, an increase of 20 cases compared to the same period last year. Recently, Hanoi Police dismantled a network smuggling 300 tons of meat from 3,600 pigs infected with African swine fever into schools. Following this incident, the Ministry of Health urged local authorities to closely monitor collective kitchens.
To thoroughly prevent these issues, authorities are drafting a new decree to replace outdated regulations. Officials believe current penalties are too low and insufficient to deter profit-driven businesses.
According to the draft decree currently under appraisal by the Ministry of Justice, regulatory agencies will impose fines of 60-80 million dong if an establishment uses animals that died from disease or were slated for destruction in food production, for batches valued under 10 million dong. This represents a significant increase from the previous range of 40-50 million dong.
If the value of the violating batch is 10 million dong or more, or if the owner uses prohibited chemicals or ingredients not on the approved list, the fine will increase to 80-100 million dong.
Fines ranging from 30-60 million dong will apply to acts of processing animal or plant products that failed quarantine or do not meet safety standards.
If an establishment owner uses expired ingredients, the state will impose fines two to three times, or even five to seven times, the value of the infringing batch.
Beyond monetary fines, authorities will suspend the processing facility's operations for two to 12 months, revoke product declaration licenses for up to two years, and compel the business owner to destroy all violating items.
Statistics from 2025 show that authorities discovered nearly 21,000 establishments violating food safety regulations. Although the violation rate was similar to the previous year, the quantity of substandard and prohibited items requiring destruction surged. Therefore, experts believe that increasing fines is an essential step to protect public health.
Le Nga
