Tightening control over counterfeit dietary supplements during the year-end period.

According to authorities, the trade in counterfeit and unverified dietary supplements remains widespread.

Towards the end of the year, when migrant workers, international students, and overseas Vietnamese return home for Tet (Lunar New Year), the demand for nutritional supplements as gifts for family increases significantly.

However, this is also a time when many people take advantage of the situation to trade in counterfeit and unverified dietary supplements, posing a health risk to consumers.

Dietary supplements have a direct impact on public health, therefore the regulation of these products needs to be strictly enforced.

Recently, the Department of Criminal Investigation of Corruption, Economic Crimes, Smuggling, and Environmental Crimes (Tay Ninh Provincial Police) coordinated with Team 4 of the Tay Ninh Provincial Market Management Department and the Tan Chau District Police to dismantle a ring selling counterfeit functional foods through e-commerce platforms.

Previously, the Thanh Hoa Provincial Market Management Department fined MOMKID Vietnam Joint Stock Company 32 million VND for trading functional foods without invoices or documents proving their origin.

The Da Nang Market Management Department also discovered a series of smuggled functional food products of unknown origin worth 34 million VND and fined one violating establishment 30 million VND.

Despite regulations on functional foods, such as requirements for product declaration and supplementary labeling as stipulated by Vietnamese law, the trade in counterfeit and unverified functional foods remains widespread. These products are not inspected by authorities, exposing consumers to risks regarding quality and health safety.

This situation is further complicated by the fact that dietary supplements imported from abroad, even for personal use and not subject to regulation, must meet all requirements regarding product declaration and quality control when sold commercially.

In reality, many individuals have taken advantage of high consumer demand and large profits to sell products of unknown origin or those that have been processed and relabeled.

To protect consumers, the Ministry of Health, the Market Management Department, and other relevant agencies have strengthened control measures, especially on e-commerce platforms and social networks, where the trade of counterfeit and unverified dietary supplements is quite common.

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan stated that functional food products must be licensed by the authorities before being put on the market. However, managing sales through social media and e-commerce platforms is facing significant difficulties, especially when advertising servers are located abroad.

The Ministry of Health has issued product registration certificates for more than 24,600 functional food products from 2022 to the present and has conducted inspections of functional food production and business establishments. In particular, the Ministry has handled 126 violations in the functional food sector, imposing fines totaling over 16.8 billion VND.

In addition, localities inspected more than 941,000 establishments and imposed fines exceeding 123 billion VND for violations. The violations mainly involved the production and consumption of counterfeit or substandard functional foods, or false advertising.

To effectively manage functional foods, experts suggest the need to establish a comprehensive legal framework with detailed regulations on quality standards, ingredients, and production of functional foods.

In addition, there needs to be a mechanism to check product quality before it is released to the market, requiring production facilities to comply with food safety and hygiene standards.

The control over advertising of dietary supplements also needs to be strengthened to prevent false advertising about product effects, which can mislead consumers. Authorities need to closely monitor advertising campaigns, especially those conducted on social media platforms.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Health and relevant agencies need to continue to promote public awareness and consumer education on how to choose and use functional foods safely and effectively.

At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the application of information technology to monitor and manage the functional food market, from tracking product origins to quality control and enforcement of legal regulations.

Functional foods have a direct impact on public health, therefore the regulation of these products needs to be strictly enforced.

Authorities will continue to coordinate to inspect, monitor, and handle violations in the functional food business, in order to protect consumer rights and minimize potential risks to public health.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/siet-chat-kiem-soat-thuc-pham-chuc-nang-gia-dip-cuoi-nam-d232933.html