Circular No. 29/2023/TT-BYT Guiding Content and Presentation of Nutrient Components and Nutrient Values on Food Labels

Circular No. 29/2023/TT-BYT, issued by the Ministry of Health on 30 December 2023, guides the content, manner of declaration, and implementation roadmap for nutrient components and nutrient values on labels of prepackaged foods produced, traded, imported and circulated in Vietnam. It is issued pursuant to the Law on Food Safety No. 55/2010/QH12 and relevant decrees including ND-CP 43/2017 (as amended by ND-CP 111/2021) and ND-CP 15/2018, and follows the Ministry's organizational decree ND-CP 95/2022. The Circular applies to organizations and individuals responsible for food labeling and state food-safety management agencies; certain categories of materials and foods are excluded (including non-retail ingredients, single-ingredient foods, natural mineral water and bottled water, table salt and refined salt, edible vinegar and substitutes, flavors, additives, food enzymes, plain tea and coffee without added ingredients except colorants or flavorings, health-protecting foods, alcoholic beverages, foods exempted under ND-CP 43/2017 as amended, foods under ND-CP 15/2018 clauses specified, and foods produced by small retail food establishments). Voluntary labeling by excluded entities must comply with this Circular if undertaken. The Circular defines key terms including Energy, Protein, Carbohydrate, Total Sugars, Total Fat, Saturated Fat, Sodium and Reference Nutrient Values based on scientific recommendations for the Vietnamese population. General principles require accuracy, avoidance of misleading statements, legibility and irreversibility of nutrient information, and compliance with other labeling and food safety laws. Required nutrient declarations for foods in Vietnam include: Energy, Protein, Carbohydrate, Total Fat, and Sodium. Additional mandatory declarations apply for specific product groups: beverages and processed milk with added sugar and other added-sugar foods must also declare Total Sugars; fried foods must also declare Saturated Fat. The Circular allows omission of a nutrient where the product contains none or an amount below thresholds set out in Annex I. The Circular sets out detailed rules on methods of expression, units, basis for declaration (per serving, per 100 g/ml, or as otherwise indicated), formatting, rounding, and the implementation timeline and transitional arrangements (including conformity with prior labeling rules). The Circular takes effect from its specified enforcement date and provides for provisions superseding prior inconsistent guidance; it mandates state management and responsibilities for compliance monitoring and enforcement.