Recently, the situation of celebrities and influential people on social networks participating in advertising health protection products that are not in accordance with regulations has become increasingly common, affecting the awareness and consumption behavior of the community.
The Food Safety Department (Ministry of Health) has coordinated with the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information - Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to verify and collect evidence to handle untrue advertising behavior about functional foods on social networks. Through inspection, many individuals with great influence were discovered to have violated advertising regulations, causing misunderstandings about the benefits of the product.
On April 28, 2025, the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information issued two decisions to administratively sanction Mr. Tran Quang Minh and Ms. Nguyen Thanh Van for advertising in violation of regulations on nutritional products of Hiup 27.
Mr. Tran Quang Minh was determined to advertise HIUP 27 product not in accordance with the content published at the receiving certificate of the product announcement of the product No. 477/2022/DKSP of Vinh Phuc Department of Health. At the same time, he also used the doctor's name in the advertising content, violating the provisions of Article 52 of Decree 38/2021/ND-CP on sanctioning in the field of culture and advertising.
The remedial measures require Mr. Minh to remove all advertising violations, correct false information, and bear the costs of organizing the implementation of these measures. The total fine is 37.5 million VND.
Ms. Nguyen Thanh Van was also punished for advertising products that caused confusion in terms of use compared to the published content. The authorities asked her to delete the violating content, rectify the information, and pay all costs related to remedying the consequences. The fine is 70 million VND.
The Food Safety Department recommends that individuals, especially celebrities and influential people on social networks, strictly comply with legal regulations in advertising activities. Incorrect advertising of functional foods not only violates the law but also directly affects public health.
Strictly handling violations is an important step to healthy the food advertising market, protect consumer rights and improve the effectiveness of state management in this field.
Faced with the situation of false advertising of food and functional foods spreading on social networks and e-commerce platforms, on May 6, 2025, the Food Safety Department (Ministry of Health) issued an official dispatch requesting localities to strengthen post-inspections and strictly handle violations.
According to the directive, the Department of Health and local food safety agencies need to proactively check and publicize violating links to warn consumers, and at the same time coordinate with relevant units to trace, identify and handle violators in accordance with regulations.
This move aims to tighten food advertising activities, protect public health and restore order in the online market.
