On the afternoon of June 1, 2026, at the Government Headquarters, Member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee and Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra chaired a working session with ministries and sectors regarding the draft Scheme on perfecting the state management apparatus for food safety. The core mandate of the Scheme is to construct a unified, single focal agency model spanning from the central to local levels, effectively resolving the current systematic challenges of fragmentation, overlapping jurisdictions, and cross-over responsibilities.
The structural configurations of the current system, the baseline parameters of institutional restructuring, and the decentralized enforcement frameworks feature:
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Statutory Background of the Scheme: Previously, Notice No. 15-TB/BCĐTW dated March 17, 2026, on the Conclusions of General Secretary To Lam, tasked the Government Party Committee with developing this Scheme for submission to the Politburo. Subsequently, Notice No. 186/TB-VPCP dated April 15, 2026, from the Government Office, conveying the conclusions of Prime Minister Le Minh Hưng, assigned the Ministry of Health to coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs and related agencies to urgently finalize the Scheme.
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Current Tri-Ministerial Management Blueprint: Vietnam’s current state management system for food safety is organized under a model assigned to 3 Ministries, with each responsible for managing specific food product categories throughout the entire supply chain. Specifically, the Ministry of Health manages 6 product categories, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment manages 19 categories, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade manages 8 categories. Additionally, the Ministry of Science and Technology handles state management regarding standards and technical regulations but does not directly execute specialized food safety management. This commodity-segregated model has shown limitations in coordination, resulting in overlaps, non-synchronous protocols, and occasional ambiguities in regulatory accountability when supply chains cross multiple ministerial domains.
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Principles of a Unified Centralized Mechanism: Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra emphasized that the restructuring must ensure a streamlined, high-potency, and high-efficiency apparatus within the overall renovation of the political system. The centralized model establishes the Ministry of Health as the primary accountable agency responsible for advising, macro coordination, and nationwide execution, while alternative ministries continue to fulfill their designated statutory functions. Administratively, the Food Safety Administration under the Ministry of Health will be reinforced to absorb a portion of the functions, duties, and expert personnel from both the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
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Decentralization Mandates Targeting Grassroots Authorities: A core principle highlighted in the session is robust decentralization to local authorities, particularly at the commune level, coupled with strict inspection, monitoring, and administrative enforcement. The updated matrix requires the explicit configuration of dedicated food safety officer positions within commune-level payrolls. Furthermore, it calls for strengthening the accountability of grassroots governments and leveraging community-based self-governance models (villages and neighborhoods) to assist in monitoring and detecting violations.
Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra requested the Party Committee of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Health to fully absorb all recommendations, urgently refining the project dossier to ensure the highest standards of rigor and feasibility before official submission to competent authorities for definitive authorization.