The Ho Chi Minh City Food Safety Department announced on June 24 a comprehensive action plan to strengthen regulatory oversight across the city’s sprawling street food sector in 2026.
The initiative aims to bolster state management, mitigate foodborne illness risks, cultivate legal compliance among vendors, and promote informed consumer choices. Additionally, authorities seek to replicate exemplary food safety models, preserve regional culinary identities, and enhance urban aesthetics while rectifying systemic loopholes.
Under the blueprint, People’s Committees across all 168 wards, communes, and special administrative zones will conduct periodic inventories to log vendor data, including headcount, operational locations, and sanitary conditions. Local authorities will also spearhead public awareness campaigns on hygienic food handling, deploy inter-sectoral task forces to penalize violators, and formulate contingency protocols for food safety emergencies.
Concurrently, specialized divisions under the Food Safety Department will lead epidemiological investigations, compile statutory reports, and design streamlined educational materials for vendors. The department will also provide intensive training for grassroots officials, monitor local data collection, and launch unannounced inspections targeting pre-processing facilities that supply the street vending network.
In tandem with the Department of Health, a joint mechanism will be established to handle outbreaks, enforce temporary business suspensions, and collect samples for laboratory testing. Furthermore, a dedicated "Street Food Safety" portal will be launched on the department’s website to publicly blacklist establishments committing severe violations.
According to department leadership, Ho Chi Minh City currently counts approximately 14,300 street food vendors. Characterized by their micro-scale and highly mobile nature, these businesses are legally exempt from formal food safety certification. Nevertheless, operators remain strictly bound by statutory hygiene standards. These mandates include a prohibition on handling food with bare hands, compulsory use of gloves and face masks, proper storage of ingredients in glass display cases, and a requirement that all dishes be prepared and consumed within the same day.
