Procedures to import health supplements into Vietnam

Is the procedure to import health supplements into Vietnam complicated? When it comes to trading functional food goods from other countries, many individuals are concerned about what is required and how to go about it.

The following article will help you answer these questions.

import health supplements

1. What is functional food?

Commonly used in many countries decades ago, functional foods have been and are still developing day by day in many different forms and uses. To distinguish the difference between functional foods and normal foods, many countries and organizations have proposed a concept for dietary supplements.

According to the Vietnam Food and Nutrition Association, “Functional foods are foods (or products) with or without nutrients, which have the effect of supporting (improving, maintaining or enhancing) the function of parts of the body. of the body, helping the body feel comfortable, increasing resistance and reducing the risk of disease.”

According to Circular 43/2014/TT-BYT Regulations on management of functional foods, the Ministry of Health of Vietnam proposes concepts to specifically distinguish different types of food such as: complementary foods, health-protecting food, medical nutrition food, food for special diet. Accordingly, at present, the previous forms of dietary supplements will no longer be called functional food, but instead most will be referred to by alternative names as dietary supplements or health-protecting foods.

Find out more about Circular 43/2014/TT-BYT here.

functional food

2. Declaration of functional foods

Functional foods are not ordinary foods. They support other vital functions of the human body. Therefore, for each type of food supplement, including those produced domestically and imported, it is necessary to make a declaration to confirm before the state about the quality and safety of the product.

There are two types of dossiers for announcement of food safety, which are dossiers of announcement of regulation conformity and dossiers of announcement of conformity with food safety regulations:

Imported functional foods with technical regulations must be announced and registered with the Ministry of Health (Food Safety Department) before being circulated on the market.
Imported functional foods without technical regulations must be announced in accordance with food safety regulations and registered with the Ministry of Health (the Food Safety Authority) before when put on the market.

See more details about theses types of records here.

After having a complete and appropriate dossier, proceed to submit the dossier at the Department of Food Safety and wait to be granted the Certificate of Receipt of Announcement of Conformity or Certificate of Conformity of Announcement of Safety Regulations. food.

3. Procedures to import health supplements

After receiving the results of confirming the announcement of suitable dietary supplements, business units can carry out the procedures for importing dietary supplements according to the following process:

(1) Register for inspection of food hygiene and safety at competent agencies such as: Center for Standards and Quality 1 (Quatest 1, in Hanoi), Technical Center for Standards, Metrology and Quality 3 (Quatest 3, in HCMC); National Institute of Food Safety and Hygiene (in Hanoi)…

(2) Declare and transmit the customs declaration attached to the approved registration paper

(3) Do customs procedures and bring the goods to the warehouse for storage

(4) Experts at the inspection registration center come to inspect the warehouse and take samples for inspection

(5) After the inspection, if the results are satisfactory, the additional results shall be submitted to the Customs for customs clearance of the consignment. If the results are not satisfactory, the shipment will have to be returned.

Above is information related to the procedure for importing food supplements into Vietnam. Hopefully the article can help you have an overview of the whole import process and help you know what documents and conditions are needed to be able to bring your desired products to do business in Vietnam.

4. Service of Khoi Nguyen

Khoi Nguyen specializes in importing and exporting functional food products, medical supplies and equipment with many different product groups. Not only that, Khoi Nguyen also provides a comprehensive service solution group for customers such as: