Recently, the situation of trading in fake drugs and fake functional foods has become increasingly complicated, seriously affecting public health. Faced with this situation, Ho Chi Minh City has strengthened inspection, supervision and strong handling to prevent fraud in the pharmaceutical and food sectors from the root.
According to the report of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, in 18 months (from January 2024 to June 2025), the functional forces in the City Steering Committee 389 inspected more than 27,700 cases. Thereby, 1,475 violations related to counterfeit goods were detected and handled, including many cases of drugs and functional foods. The total amount of money paid to the state budget from fines and confiscation of goods in violation is up to nearly 2,000 billion VND.
In the pharmaceutical field, Ho Chi Minh City Police have cracked down on 9 cases of production and trading of fake drugs. These establishments often operate illegally, using pocket- tightens, vulture presses, and printing fake stamps to "transform" cheap ingredients into fake drugs of famous brands. Nearly 1.6 tons of pharmaceutical ingredients of unknown origin along with hundreds of thousands of boxes and labels have been seized.
According to Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, functional foods are also a "hot spot", when many subjects produce counterfeit goods at unlicensed establishments and sell them through social networks and e-commerce platforms. A typical case is the fake powdered milk production facility of a famous brand discovered in the old Binh Duong province, with goods worth up to 14.5 billion VND.
Regarding post-inspection, the health sector has taken samples to test 774 types of drugs and discovered 20 samples that did not meet standards (accounting for 2.58%). For functional foods, out of 310 samples tested, there were 52 samples that did not meet requirements (16.77%). Many products contain banned ingredients, with incorrect labels or unknown origins.
According to Mr. Nam, the City Department of Health has inspected 496 pharmacies and fined 92 with a total amount of more than 3.5 billion VND. Common violations include selling drugs of unknown origin, expired drugs, unsafe storage conditions, and no pharmacists present at the clinic. The City Food Safety Management Board also fined nearly 5 billion VND and suspended the operation of many violating facilities. The Ho Chi Minh City Market Management Department discovered 812 violations related to counterfeit drugs and food, fined and destroyed goods according to regulations.
However, the fight against fake drugs and food is still facing difficulties due to the large number of production and trading establishments: more than 6,000 pharmacies and 13,000 food establishments across the city. Meanwhile, the inspection force is still thin, mainly inspection in batches, not comprehensive.
Notably, consumer support tools are still limited. The website for drug lookup of the City Health Department only provides a list of pharmacies that meet GPP standards, not allowing people to check specific product information at the time of purchase.
Faced with this situation, Ho Chi Minh City proposed that the Central Government increase criminal fines for the production and sale of fake drugs and food; invest in testing; build a shared database and apply technology to trace the origin. Protecting public health is not only the task of the health sector, but a common responsibility of the whole society.
