Labelling & claims

Labelling of dietary supplements and health-protection foods is governed by two parallel rule-sets:

• Decree 43/2017/ND-CP on labelling of goods — the general framework for commercial goods sold in Vietnam, including mandatory Vietnamese language for labels, required commercial information, and rules on supplementary languages.
• Circular 43/2014/TT-BYT — sector-specific rules for functional-food labels: product classification, recommended dosage, target user, conditions of use, and the mandatory disclaimer for health supplements.

Mandatory items on a health-supplement label include: product name; ingredient list with quantitative declaration of active components; net content; intended use and recommended dosage; manufacturer and importer name and address; country of origin; batch number; date of manufacture and expiry; storage conditions; registration-declaration certificate number issued by VFA; and the mandatory disclaimer, in Vietnamese, "This product is not a drug and is not intended to replace any drug", in legible contrasting text.

Claims permitted on labels are limited to those approved in the registered declaration. Disease-treatment, disease-prevention, or "cure" claims are prohibited. Comparative claims against medicines are prohibited. Any health claim must be backed by the scientific evidence submitted in the dossier.

General labelling framework:

• Decree 43/2017/ND-CP — issued 14 April 2017. Mandatory labelling content for goods sold in Vietnam, Vietnamese-language requirement, and rules for supplementary languages. Subsequently amended on technical details.

Sector-specific (functional foods):

• Circular 43/2014/TT-BYT — labelling chapter sets dosage, target-user, and conditions-of-use requirements for functional foods.

Mandatory disclaimer for health supplements:

• Decree 181/2013/ND-CP (Article 5) — first introduced the mandatory Vietnamese wording "Thực phẩm này không phải là thuốc và không có tác dụng thay thế thuốc chữa bệnh" ("This food is not a medicine and does not replace medicines for treating disease") for both labels and advertising. The wording is repeated in Circular 43/2014/TT-BYT for labelling.

Claim substantiation:

• Decree 15/2018/ND-CP — the registered-declaration dossier must include scientific evidence supporting any claimed effect; only the approved claims may appear on the label.

2024–2025 — Online listing labelling: VFA reminded e-commerce platforms and sellers that product listings online are treated as labels for enforcement purposes; the mandatory disclaimer and registration-certificate number must be visible on listing pages and sales videos.

2022 — Updated alignment with Decree 43/2017: MOH and the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued joint guidance reminding businesses that the supplementary-language and origin-marking rules under Decree 43/2017 apply alongside the sector-specific rules in Circular 43/2014.

Standing — Mandatory disclaimer enforcement: VFA continues to issue warnings and fines for health-supplement labels and listings that omit, hide, or visually de-emphasise the mandatory "Thực phẩm này không phải là thuốc…" disclaimer.