In that context, the Ministry of Health is finalizing the draft Law on Food Safety (amended), proposing 4 key policy groups to comprehensively change management methods. This is not simply amending a law that is more than 15 years old, but adjusting management thinking to keep up with market changes.
As the supply chain becomes longer, online business activities develop strongly, and food circulates through many different channels, checking only at a few stages is no longer enough to prevent risks. The consequence is that functional agencies often only detect violations when the product has reached consumers.
A noteworthy point in this draft is the shift from the "detect and then handle" mindset to "assess risks for prevention". Supply chain management, enhanced traceability and the application of digital technology are directions that are in line with modern management trends. What people need is not raids after events have occurred, but ensuring that food reaching them has been controlled from the beginning.
This viewpoint also agrees with the requirement to put people's health first. General Secretary and President To Lam once emphasized that if food safety is not ensured, building more hospitals or training more doctors cannot solve the root problems of public health. That is the viewpoint of considering prevention as a fundamental solution, instead of just focusing on overcoming the consequences.
However, amending the law is only the beginning. The deciding factor is still the feasibility of implementation. If the data between agencies is not connected, traceability is still only formalistic; if the inspection on the e-commerce environment is slower than the speed of appearance of booths, then the new regulations are unlikely to be as effective as expected.
A safe food market cannot be based solely on the consumer's vigilance. No one can tell with the naked eye what is clean food, what is fake, and what is poor quality if information about the origin is not transparent and the responsibilities of the actors in the supply chain are not clearly established.
The Law on Food Safety (amended) therefore needs to create a mechanism where responsibility belongs to producers, businesses and management agencies, instead of inadvertently pushing risks to consumers. Because public health cannot be protected by the advice "be a smart consumer", but must be protected by a sufficiently strict management system so that people no longer have to gamble every time they choose food for their daily meals.
