Continuously recalling substandard cosmetics
Most recently, in just one day (November 9), the Department of Drug Administration - Ministry of Health - consecutively issued notices of suspension and recall of poor quality cosmetics. Accordingly, the Drug Administration issued a notice to suspend circulation, recall and destroy the batch of Vitamin E Carebeau - White skin care cream, type 250g, batch number 561, manufactured in August 2024, valid until August 2027.
Although it was announced to contain Tocopherol (Vitamin E), the test results of the Central Institute for Drug Testing showed that the product only contained Tocopheryl acetate, which was not the ingredient declared in the dossier. The product is manufactured by SB Interlab Co., Ltd (Thailand) and distributed in Vietnam by Thuong Tin Investment, Trade and Service Company Limited.
On the same day, the Department continued to issue a decision to revoke three products of Vimac Cosmetics Joint Stock Company: smooth shampoo - CB No. 15077/23/CBMP-HN, smooth distillation oil - CB No. 15078/23/CBMP-HN and skin conditioner gel - CB No. 15079/23/CBMP-HN because the enterprise does not have a Product Information Document (PIF) - mandatory documents according to the regulations on cosmetic management including:
The lack of PIF means that businesses cannot prove the safety, quality and effectiveness of the product.
Not stopping there, 4 more products of Zacy Cosmetic Company Limited were suspended from circulation due to formula deviations and trademark violations. The three products ASAP radiance Serum, Mandelic Acid 3-In-1 Wash and 3% Mandelic Acid 3-In-1 Toner have actual formulas that do not match the published records.
The special special special special mention of the special specialties of the specialties of the product is the product's name.
Great post-inspection pressure in the context of rapid market growth
Dr. Ta Manh Hung - Deputy Director of the Department of Drug Administration, Ministry of Health - commented that the Vietnamese cosmetic market is growing strongly, bringing many challenges: poor quality goods, counterfeit products, smuggled products, wrong labels, advertising for the wrong purpose...
According to the current mechanism, Vietnam applies the model of self-declared enterprises - state-owned after-inspection agencies, in accordance with the ASEAN Cosmetic Agreement and EU practices. This helps create an open business environment, but at the same time requires businesses to take full responsibility for product quality.
The post-inspection work operates according to the principle of risk management - focusing on the group of enterprises and products with high risks or signs of violations.
The inspection and examination of cosmetics is not only carried out by the Ministry of Health but also by the participation of many ministries and branches such as the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Finance, the Market Management force, Customs and People's Committees of provinces and cities. In which, the Ministry of Health is responsible for concluding on the quality of cosmetics nationwide. Market management supervises cosmetics business activities. Customs controls customs clearance and import and export of products. The People's Committees of provinces and cities are responsible for managing the operations of cosmetic production and trading establishments in the area.
Thanks to cross-sectoral coordination, many violations were detected in a timely manner. However, according to the assessment, the rapid increase of imported cosmetics and e-commerce is beyond the control of the authorities.
In the period of 2020 - 2025, the Ministry of Health received more than 150,000 imported cosmetic declarations. The Departments of Health of localities received more than 50,000 certificates declaring domestically produced products. More than 1,000 facilities nationwide are inspected by the Department of Health; 97 facilities are directly inspected by the Department of Drug Administration. Administrative fines of more than 3.3 billion VND; 16,800 product receipts are revoked. 650 quality cosmetic samples were recalled out of more than 11,000 test samples, the violation rate decreased from 2% in 2021 to 1.5% in 2024. Transfer the 2 cases to the police due to signs of criminality; coordinate with Steering Committee 389 to widely publicize dozens of cases of products of unknown origin.
Dr. Ta Manh Hung affirmed: Cosmetic control is always a key task; all violations are strictly handled, there are no forbidden areas, no exceptions.
In the coming time, the Ministry of Health will complete the legal corridor, submit to the Government to issue a new Decree on cosmetic management, amend Decrees 117/2020/ND-CP and 98/2020/ND-CP in the direction of increasing sanctions. Build a national cosmetic data system to serve traceability. Strengthen the inter-sectoral coordination mechanism between Industry and Trade, Finance, Public Security, Border Guard, National Steering Committee 389... to prevent counterfeit cosmetics, smuggling and trade fraud.
According to Statista data, the scale of the Vietnamese cosmetics market in 2024 is estimated to reach 2.4 billion USD, an increase of 3.4% over the previous year. It is forecasted that by 2027, this figure could reach 2.7 billion USD, equivalent to a compound growth rate of more than 3.3%.
Vietnam currently imports more than 90% of the cosmetics consumed on the market. About 20% of products are sold through e-commerce channels, this rate continues to increase thanks to the explosion of e-commerce and social networks.
