Chương 6 Nghị định 38/2012/NĐ-CP: Ghi nhãn thực phẩm

Chapter 6.

LABELING

Article 17. Recording expiry date on food labels

1. Safety shelf life is required to be recorded as "Expiry date" or "Use date" for functional foods, food supplements, health protecting foods, medical nutritional food, food fortified nutrients and foods likely to be damaged by microorganisms. Safety shelf life for other foods could be recorded as "best use before date" suitable to food products.

2. For food recorded "Expiry date" or "Use date" shall not be sold to market when its time limit is expired.

3. For food recorded "best use before date", after this time foods are still allowed to be be sold to market if the manufacturers demonstrate that such foods are still safe with the competent state agencies and required to be written clearly its shelf life in one of two forms of "Expiry date" or "Use date". Only the food manufacturers are allowed prolonging shelf life for their food products and shelf life only is permitted to be prolonged for a maximum period equal to shelf life provided for at the first time.

Article 18. Mandatory contents for labeling

1. The availably packaged foods are required to be labeled under the provisions of the law on food labeling.

2. Depending on each type of availably packaged food, in addition to the provisions in clause 1 of this Article, the mandatory contents for labeling must also meet some following provisions:

a) Information on the label must match the nature of the product, be honest, accurate, clear and not misleading to the users;

b) For functional foods, food fortified with micronutrients, it must be shown on the label the following main contents: Announcement of nutrients; active ingredient of biological effects; the health effects; specification of objects, the dosage, usage, warnings, if any;

c) For medical nutritional food, supplements of vitamins, minerals, micronutrients not for community popularization such as formula food for pregnant mothers, children under 36 months of age and food through the catheter for patients must be publicized the respone rate compared with nutritional needs, the use dosage of each object and instruction of doctors;

d) Functional foods, food fortified with micronutrients, food additives, some genetically modified food (subject to labeling in accordance with provisions of the law on the labeling for genetically modified food) must be specified the composition and concentration in food;

đ) When taking a certain ingredient in a product to be the product’s name, it must be clearly recorded such ingredient beside product’s name;

e) Product’s name must be the clearest, largest font size and at least threefold of other font size on the label;

g) When moving the label, it must make sure that the contents shall not be erroneous compared with the original label content.

3. Ministry of Health shall preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Industry and Trade to detail the food labeling.