At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on the morning of September 16, Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam - Deputy Director of SPS Vietnam Office updated on a number of food safety and disease safety (SPS) measures of the Chinese, EU and Middle East - Africa markets serving Vietnam's agricultural and food exports.
According to Mr. Nam, from January 1 to September 10, 2026, three markets including the European Union (EU), China and the Middle East - Africa have announced a total of 249 SPS measures, including 150 draft notices and 99 notices that have taken effect.
The changes focus on limiting pesticide residues, quarantine, traceability, business registration, labeling and food safety standards.
In which, the EU has 88 SPS notifications, including 27 draft notifications and 61 notifications that have taken effect. Notably, the EU is drafting amendments to the maximum residue level (MRL) for many active ingredients. With profenofos, Vietnam currently stipulates MRL 10 mg/kg for tomatoes, 0.2 mg/kg for mangoes and 0.5 mg/kg for tea types, while the EU is expected to apply a level of about 0.01-0.05 mg/kg for some corresponding products.
The EU also continues to maintain control over some Vietnamese goods. Fresh or chilled durian is subject to a 20% inspection frequency; dragon fruit 30%; okra and some types of chili peppers at 50%.
The Chinese side also has 34 SPS notices, including 31 draft notices and 3 notices that have taken effect.
One of the notable changes is Decree No. 280 of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), effective from June 1, 2026, on the management of registration of foreign food production enterprises importing into China.
Accordingly, 17 food groups must be registered in the form of official recommendations; some high-risk groups such as meat, meat products, bird's nests and products from bird's nests are not automatically renewed for registration.
China also requires import businesses to declare the registration code of foreign businesses accurately when carrying out customs procedures, thereby strengthening traceability.
The Middle East - Africa region has 127 notifications, including 92 drafts and 35 notifications that have taken effect.
Jordan is drafting amendments to the standards for rice used as food. Accordingly, rice must be healthy, clean, without live insects; moisture content must not exceed 15%, broken grain ratio must not exceed 6%, and must meet Halal standards and requirements for pesticide residues. Goods labels must be printed in Arabic.
Faced with a series of new regulations, the SPS Vietnam Office recommends that cooperatives and producers proactively review SPS requirements before organizing production and signing export contracts; strictly control pesticides, veterinary drugs, chemicals and additives.
At the same time, it is necessary to fully implement production logs, trace origin according to each batch and proactively test high-risk indicators before exporting," Mr. Nam informed at the press conference.
