HCMC – Ho Chi Minh City authorities have rolled out a citywide food safety inspection plan for 2026, tightening oversight of food supply chains from wholesale markets and modern retail channels to school kitchens and industrial catering services through the end of the year.
Under the plan announced on May 15, the city’s health, agriculture, and industry-trade agencies will take the lead in preventing food safety incidents.
Inspection efforts will focus on compliance with regulations covering the origin of raw materials, food additives and processing aids, technical standards, product declarations, and labeling requirements for all food producers and traders operating in the city.
The move comes amid growing concerns over food safety in the urban market. Authorities said the illegal use of banned substances in food processing and commercial fraud, including the relabeling of spoiled meat and the sale of pork disguised as beef, has continued to surface.
Several recent cases of food poisoning linked to banh mi, institutional kitchens, and school meals that hospitalized hundreds of people have also raised alarm over food supply chain safety.
To tackle the issue at its source, the city will launch a series of intensive inspections targeting specific sectors. In addition to broad inspections of supermarkets, shopping centers, and agricultural wholesale markets to monitor incoming goods, authorities will closely inspect sensitive locations such as school cafeterias, industrial meal providers inside and outside export processing zones and high-tech parks, hospitals, wedding restaurants, and event centers.
Functional foods, milk, and specialized nutrition products will also face tighter scrutiny ahead of a broader food safety monitoring campaign during the Mid-Autumn Festival season in the third quarter of this year.
