On May 19, 2025, the Food Safety Department (Ministry of Health) said it had sent an official dispatch requesting the National Institute of Nutrition and the Dong Nai Department of Health to urgently check and verify advertising information related to Nestle Milo products using the content of the clinical trial report.
According to the reflection, Nestle Milo products advertised are related to the clinical trial report of the National Institute of Nutrition. In response to this information, the Food Safety Department has based on Article 40 of Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP to issue Official Letter No. 1030/ATTP-NDTT dated May 16, 2025 to the Dong Nai Department of Health, requesting inspection, verification and handling of violations if any in accordance with legal regulations.
On the same day, the Department also issued Official Letter No. 1031/ATTP-NDTT to the National Institute of Nutrition requesting a review of related communication and advertising content to ensure compliance with the provisions of Clause 2, Article 27 of Decree 15/2018/ND-CP, as well as strictly implementing Directive 17/CT-TTg dated May 9, 2017 of the Prime Minister on strengthening state management of advertising activities.
The Food Safety Department affirmed that it will continue to monitor and strictly handle violations of food advertising regulations if any.
Recently, public opinion has been stirred by the information on the packaging of Nestle Milo barley milk products with the advertisement: "ally, it has been scientifically proven to be more durable. Clinically tested by the Institute of Nutrition".
According to the National Institute of Nutrition, the above content is related to a grassroots scientific research topic that this unit has coordinated with Nestle Vietnam. Specifically, the study was conducted from June 2022 to March 2023 on 576 primary school students in Ninh Binh province. The results show that the product combined with the physical education program contributes to improving physical qualities such as speed, strength, endurance, flexibility and ingenuity.
However, the study did not record clear results in nutrition and intelligence, and more importantly, this is a grassroots study, not a clinical study according to professional definitions. Therefore, the Institute of Nutrition has recommended that Nestle Vietnam review the use of research results in communication activities, and at the same time request the removal of advertising content if it violates regulations to ensure compliance with the law in nutritional product promotion activities.
