Ministry of Industry and Trade Seeks Feedback on New National Standards for Alcoholic Beverages 09-10-2025
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) is seeking public feedback on a draft national technical regulation for alcoholic beverages, aiming to build a transparent legal framework that ensures safety and supports the sustainable development of the beverage industry.
On the morning of October 9, the Department of Innovation, Green Transition, and Industrial Promotion under MOIT organized a "Workshop on Gathering Feedback for the Draft National Technical Regulation on Alcoholic Beverages" at the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City (IUH). The workshop was chaired by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Trương Thanh Hoài.
The event gathered leaders of departments and agencies under MOIT, representatives from enterprises, industry associations, relevant ministries and sectors, as well as experts and scholars from universities and research institutes, to contribute feedback on the draft standards for alcoholic beverages.
Deputy Minister Trương Thanh Hoài chaired the workshop. Photo: Thanh Minh
In his opening remarks, Deputy Minister Trương Thanh Hoài emphasized that the development and promulgation of a National Technical Regulation on Alcoholic Beverages is not only a practical necessity but also a vital task to protect consumers' rights, enhance state management tools, and support enterprises in achieving sustainable growth and international market integration.
Deputy Minister Truong Thanh Hoai speaks at the workshop. Photo: Thanh Minh.
According to the Deputy Minister, the formulation of the regulation is driven by four key objectives: Ensuring food safety for consumers, improving the legal framework, enhancing the competitiveness of businesses, and ensuring the feasibility and effectiveness of implementation. Consumer protection and practical implementation
Protect consumers, ensure feasibility in implementation
Deputy Minister Trương Thanh Hoài highlighted the potential risks associated with alcoholic beverages, such as methanol, aldehyde, heavy metals, and microbial contamination. Similarly, non-alcoholic drinks can pose risks due to excessive levels of sugar, caffeine, additives, preservatives, contamination from packaging, or pesticide residues. These risks underline the need for a clear, unified, and easily applicable set of standards to control quality and minimize risks to consumers.
Currently, existing regulations are issued by various ministries and agencies at different times, leading to overlaps and inconsistencies that no longer reflect advances in technology or changing consumption trends. Therefore, reviewing, updating, and harmonizing standards and technical regulations is essential to establish a clear and consistent legal framework, aligned with laws such as the Law on Food Safety, Law on Product and Goods Quality, and Law on Standards and Technical Regulations.
The new technical regulation will not only serve as a management tool but also help enterprises standardize production processes, ensure product quality, enhance competitiveness, and build brand reputation. Aligning with international standards (Codex, WHO, EU, FDA, etc.) will reduce technical barriers and facilitate exports.
The Deputy Minister also emphasized that all regulations must be scientifically grounded, with transparent testing methodologies that are suitable for domestic testing capabilities. Additionally, an appropriate implementation roadmap is necessary to give enterprises — especially small and medium-sized ones — sufficient time to adapt and invest in new technologies.
Today's workshop provides a platform for stakeholders to share experiences and contribute to building a national technical regulation on alcoholic beverages that is scientific, feasible, and practical. With the active and responsible participation of all delegates, I am confident that this will help improve the regulatory framework, protect consumers, and promote the sustainable development of Vietnam's beverage industry," Deputy Minister Trương Thanh Hoài stated.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Đàm Sao Mai, Vice Rector of the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City, expressed the university's honor to accompany MOIT in such a meaningful initiative for the food and beverage industry. With its strengths in research, training, and technology transfer in the field of food technology, IUH is ready to contribute its expertise to the development and refinement of national standards and technical regulations. "We firmly believe that with contributions from experts, businesses, and policymakers, the draft national technical regulation will soon be finalized and become a key tool in protecting consumer rights, creating a fair competitive environment, and driving the sustainable growth of Vietnam's beverage industry," Assoc. Prof. Dr. Đàm Sao Mai affirmed.
