The corporate bond market is developing rapidly
According to the Food Safety Department (Ministry of Health), TPCN has appeared in Vietnam since 2000, when there were only 13 companies with 63 products, mainly importing and trading under the name "medicinal foods". Currently, the country has more than 3,000 TPCN production and trading establishments, more than 12,000 products in circulation, of which more than 8,000 domestically produced products include the following groups: Supplements, health protection foods, medical nutritional foods and foods for special diets.
According to the Vietnam Food Federation (VAFF), at this time the proportion of domestically produced products accounts for more than 60%, imports are about 30%. The rate of adults using TPCN is also high: About 63% in Hanoi and 43% in Ho Chi Minh City.
From 2022 to present, an average of 10,000 TPCN products are announced to management agencies each year, of which domestically produced products account for about 80%, and imported 20%. These figures show the large consumer demand and rapid development of thePCN industry in Vietnam.
In the first months of 2025, authorities have continuously dismantled many production and consumption lines of counterfeit, poor quality, and unknown products. The main reason for the situation of fake food production and trading given by the Food Safety Department is: High profits with low investment costs make many subjects disregard the law; taking advantage of open management mechanisms, most of the food is self-published; sophisticated tricks such as attaching import labels, forging packaging, labels, false advertising and selling online are difficult to control; consumer awareness is still limited, making it easy to trust advertisements and buy goods of unknown origin.
transparent management
DS Nguyen Xuan Hoang, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Insurance brokers, commented that the recent incidents are only isolated cases, taking advantage of legal loopholes and the degradation of some officials for profit despite ethics. In the context of the global dietary supplement market estimated at 371 billion USD in 2025 and possibly up to nearly 700 billion USD in 2034, Vietnam is also witnessing rapid growth. This is the time for society to "understand correctly - use correctly - do correctly" and rectify management and market health.
" Post-inspection is an inevitable trend, but to be effective, there must be clear standards, regulations and strong enough sanctions. The penalty level must be enough to deter, including fines and criminal prosecution when necessary. When registering a product, businesses must publicly disclose standards and testing methods, considering this as evidence to protect their reputation when disputes arise. For consumers, it is necessary to clearly identify the purpose of usingPCN, choose a reputable supplier, follow the instructions and consult a doctor to avoid interacting with the drugs being used, emphasized Nguyen Xuan Hoang.
One of the worrying points is that the post-inspection and self-declaration mechanism is showing many shortcomings. Businesses test samples themselves and self-declare quality without independent supervision, making it easy for consumers to be put in a situation of "blind trust". The Ministry of Health is drafting a Decree to replace Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP to tighten food safety management and overcome shortcomings that have arisen in recent times.
Dr. Tran Viet Nga, Director of the Department of Food Safety (Ministry of Health) said: To promote the dietary supplement market, in the immediate future, businesses need to comply with legal regulations on food safety; the management agency must strictly and fairly implement. In the long term, businesses need to invest in science and technology, product protection, anti-counterfeiting, market research, build strategies, expand business and cooperate in development.
The State needs to plan safe raw material areas, connect scientists - businesses, support export promotion, perfect transparent management policies, and protect consumer rights.
