From 2022 to the present, the Ministry of Health has issued registration certificates for 24,643 health supplement products, of which domestic products account for 84.7%.
Minister of Health : Managing the advertising of dietary supplements faces many difficulties.
From 2022 to the present, the Ministry of Health has issued registration certificates for 24,643 health supplement products, of which domestic products account for 84.7%.
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The current state of management of functional foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, and solutions for handling violations, were among the issues selected by the National Assembly to question Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan on the afternoon of November 11th.
In a report submitted to National Assembly deputies regarding several issues related to the questioning session at the 8th session, the Minister of Health stated that the legal system governing functional foods is relatively comprehensive and meets the requirements of state management.
From 2022 to the present, the Ministry of Health has issued registration certificates for 24,643 health supplement products, of which domestic products account for 84.7%.
This department also issued 201 certificates of food safety compliance for facilities meeting Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements for health supplements.
The report also stated that the Ministry of Health issued 6,653 advertising content approval certificates; transferred information on 95 infringing products across 184 links to the Ministry of Information and Communications, and 92 infringing products across 165 links to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for handling.
The Ministry of Health has implemented and directed localities to conduct inspections, checks, and post-inspections of establishments producing and trading health food products, as affirmed by Minister Dao Hong Lan.
Specifically, the Ministry of Health handled 126 violations, with a total fine of over 16.8 billion VND.
Local authorities inspected 941,836 establishments, of which 85,551 were found to be in violation, and fined 20,881 establishments, with a total fine amount exceeding 123 billion VND.
According to the Minister of Health, the main violations in the inspection and testing of functional foods primarily concern the production of counterfeit functional foods.
Most counterfeit and substandard dietary supplements imported into Vietnam are repackaged, relabeled, and falsely labeled with their origin before being distributed to consumers. These counterfeit products are sold on the market at lower prices than the genuine ones.
Other violations include producing dietary supplements containing banned substances, producing and trading dietary supplements that do not meet the advertised quality standards; advertising dietary supplements as miracle cures, making false or deceptive advertisements that mislead consumers.
Using images, equipment, uniforms, names, correspondence of medical units, facilities, doctors, pharmacists, medical staff, thank-you letters from patients, articles by doctors, pharmacists, and medical staff to advertise food is also a violation identified through inspections and audits.
Acknowledging the limitations, Minister Dao Hong Lan stated that managing the advertising of functional foods and health supplements still faces many difficulties due to the development of online advertising methods.
It is particularly difficult to handle violations, especially on social media platforms and advertisements from servers located overseas.
Authorities are also facing difficulties in managing sales through new methods such as: advertising via telephone sales consultations, threats, and exaggerating health conditions to sell dietary supplements.
The Minister of Health also stated that the shift from pre-inspection to post-inspection management facilitates businesses in self-declaring dietary supplement products and producing and selling them immediately after self-declaration without needing input from the regulatory agency.
However, some businesses have taken advantage of this mechanism to violate regulations, failing to submit self-declaration documents to local authorities, making inaccurate or incomplete declarations, or even failing to declare the products they manufacture and sell, leading to many products not being subject to post-inspection and the risk of products not meeting safety standards, the Minister acknowledged.
The report also cited several causes, including the fact that some organizations and individuals prioritize profit over the law and the health and lives of the community.
Specifically, many individuals are taking advantage of the high demand for dietary supplements by deliberately producing counterfeit supplements, importing supplements of unknown origin and labeling them with the names of products from the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, etc., and intentionally making false advertisements regardless of regulations and ethics.
Looking ahead, Ms. Lan said that many solutions will be implemented, including strengthening the management of advertising, especially advertising via social media.
Publicly disclose the names of violating establishments, infringing products, and infringing content in the mass media as prescribed by law, and impose appropriate penalties; add new offenses and increase the fines for administrative violations in the advertising sector to ensure deterrence.
Strengthening management, inspection, and supervision in the production and business of functional foods, and handling violations, is also a solution mentioned by the Minister.
Regarding cosmetic management, according to the report, the Ministry of Health has so far processed 33,938 cosmetic product registration dossiers, with 3,695 dossiers currently under processing. It has also processed 28 out of 28 import orders for cosmetic products used in research and testing. Furthermore, it has inspected and evaluated 10 facilities and issued certificates of compliance with the "Good Manufacturing Practice for Cosmetics" principles and standards of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (CGMPASEAN) to 14 facilities.
Source: https://baodautu.vn/bo-truong-bo-y-te-quan-ly-hoat-dong-quang-cao-thuc-pham-chuc-nang-gap-nhieu-kho-khan-d229457.html
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