HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has called for urgent revisions and interim guidance on food safety inspections for imported food after the immediate enforcement of a new decree caused severe congestion of imported farm produce at border gates.

In a report sent on February 1 to Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and Deputy Prime Minister Lê Thành Long, the ministry said new food safety inspection rules under Decree 46/2026/NĐ-CP had left around 300,000 tonnes of goods stranded at land, sea and air checkpoints as of January 29. 

The backlog mainly involved vegetables, fruits, rice, cassava and processed food.

Decree 46, effective from January 26, replaces Decree 15/2018/NĐ-CP with tighter food safety controls. While necessary after recent food safety incidents, its implementation has created practical bottlenecks, the ministry said.

Under Article 25, all normally inspected imported food shipments must now undergo document checks, physical inspection and laboratory testing for safety and quality indicators. Test results typically take 5-7 days and are required before customs clearance. However, most border gates – especially land crossings – lack on-site laboratories, severely slowing this process.

The ministry also cited a lack of guidance on how inspectors should select testing indicators from food safety criteria listed in dossiers under Article 21. This left border authorities without a legal basis to determine what and how many indicators to test.

Another issue is a new requirement under Article 24 for fresh farm produce importers to submit a 'Product Standard' document. No template or mandatory content has been issued, complicating dossier appraisal.

The congestion was worsened by the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday peak, when most imports are fresh produce, while storage infrastructure at border gates remains limited. Decree 46 does not allow firms to move goods to private warehouses while awaiting test results, increasing the risk of spoilage and losses.

The ministry said it worked with Tây Ninh Province and regional plant quarantine agencies to ease congestion at affected checkpoints. By January 31, the backlog had largely been cleared.

It has reported these difficulties to the Food Safety Department under the Ministry of Health – the drafting agency of the decree – for submission to the national inter-sector food safety committee.

The ministry is also considering delegating food safety inspections for relevant imports to provincial People’s Committees to allow more flexible handling at the local level.

To prevent further disruption, especially ahead of Tết, the ministry proposed that the Government assign the Ministry of Health to urgently review and amend Decree 46 to ensure feasibility. Pending revisions, it asked for immediate written guidance on several provisions to align enforcement with practical conditions.

The ministry has also asked provinces and cities with border gates to closely monitor the situation and resolve difficulties within their authority, while reporting developments to the ministry for support. — BIZHUB/VNS