Labels of dietary supplements sold on Vietnamese market

Labels of dietary supplements sold on Vietnamese market

I. Labeling language of dietary supplements sold on Vietnamese market

1. Labels of dietary supplements manufactured and sold on Vietnamese market must be written in Vietnamese and noted with adequate mandatory information as stipulated in this Joint circular No. 34/2014/TTLT-BYT-BNNPTNT-BCT. Depending on requirement of each product type, an alternative language may be used. Information in other languages must be corresponding to that in Vietnamese and letter size is not permitted to be larger than the information in Vietnamese.

2. Dietary supplements imported for sale on Vietnamese market must be labeled as follows:
a. Add additional labels with mandatory contents in Vietnamese attached to the goods labels. The additional label must be affixed to the product or its commercial packaging and must not obscure the contents of the product label. The content written on the secondary label must not misrepresent the content of the product label
b. Mandatory information on labels must be adequate and written in Vietnamese

II. Information of label of dietary supplements sold on Vietnamese market

1. Information mandatory to be introduced into labels: product name; composition; product quantity; date of manufacture; shelf-life and preservation instructions; usage instruction; name and address of organizations, individuals taking responsibility for the product; origins; number of Certificate of Declaration of conformity or Certificate of Declaration of conformity with the food safety regulations; recommendations and warnings on food safety.

2. Other information of labels includes words, images, symbols, marks conveying different information.

3. Warning of risks, if any.

4. The name of the product and the information on the label must be consistent with the claims and materials attached to the declaration document.

5. Requirements for Vietnamese labels of supplement foods

 Labels of supplement foods must comply with the provisions in Clause 1, 2 above and the following provisions:
a) On the main part of the label, there must be a phrase expressing the food group as “Supplement foods” or the heading name in a national technical regulation.
b) The users to which RNI apply or conformable with scientific evidence of the recommended dose (if no RNI are available) must be specified.

6. Requirements for Vietnamese labels of health supplements

Labels of health supplements must comply with the provisions in Clause 1, 2 above and the following provisions:
a) On main part of the label, there must be a phrase expressing the food group as “Health supplement” to distinguish ordinary foods from medicines.
b) When using the main ingredient that create the product effects as the product name, the following information must be written next to or below the product name on the main part and the ingredient sheet of the label: a) Contents of active ingredient in such main ingredient if they can be determined; a) Content of the main ingredient if the active ingredient contents cannot be determined;
c) Pharmacokinetics of the product shall not be written on the label.
d) There must be a phrase: “Attention: This product is not a medicine, and is not a substitute for medicines” right after the product’s effects or with other recommendations (if any). This phrase musthave a contrasting color to the background color of the label and the letters must be at leapt 1.2 millimeters. The letters must be at least 0.9 millimeters if one side of the package is smaller than 80 square centimeters.

7. Requirements for Vietnamese labels of medical foods and foods for special dietary uses

Labeling medical foods and foods for special dietary uses must comply with the provisions in Clause 1, 2 above and the following provisions:
a) On the main side of the label, there must be a phrase expressing food group as “medical foods” to distinguish ordinary foods from medical foods and the sentence: “used under the supervision of health workers”.
b) In main side of the label, there must be a phrase expressing the food group as “dietary products (for specific users)” to distinguish ordinary foods from foods for special dietary uses.
c) There must be a detailed guidance on cleaning and preparation to ensure hygiene, food safety and proper nutrition suitable for health conditions of the users.
d) Requirements for giving instructions: a) The instructions provided in the declaration document must be clear and detailed; b) Prohibited users (if any) must be specified.

Source:
- Joint circular No. 34/2014/TTLT-BYT-BNNPTNT-BCT dated 27th October, 2014 on guidance on the labeling of goods for foods, food additives, and packaged food processing aids.
- Circular No. 43/2014/TT-BYT of Health Ministry dated 24th November, 2014 regulating the management of functional foods

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