What should Vietnamese businesses do?

On September 13, in Ho Chi Minh City, the Workshop “US Regulations in the Food Industry - The Role of FSMA, FSVP in Accessing the US Market” was held, organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) in coordination with TUV NORD Vietnam Co., Ltd.

The workshop attracted the attention of the business community. Photo: Thanh Minh.

The event was held to share information about 21 CFR and FDA standards, especially the US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP).

Sharing at the event, Ms. Ho Thi Quyen, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) - said: The United States annually imports a large amount of food from more than 200 countries and territories, accounting for about 15% of the total amount of food consumed domestically.

Ms. Ho Thi Quyen, Deputy Director of the Center for Trade and Investment Promotion of Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Thanh Minh.

The United States is currently Vietnam's largest export market. In the first 8 months of 2024 alone, Vietnam's trade surplus with the United States reached 68.1 billion USD, up 28.6% over the same period last year. Of which, agricultural, forestry and fishery exports reached 8.58 billion USD, accounting for 21.4%, up 23.5% over the same period.

Although Vietnamese food has been widely available in many international markets and its export capacity is increasingly improved, penetrating the US market is still a challenge for Vietnamese businesses.

“The reason is that Vietnam mainly exports raw materials, packaged in large bags and without labels. From there, businesses from other countries import them and then process them further, or put labels of these countries on them,” said Ms. Ho Thi Quyen.

Mr. Dang Bui Khue - Director of training and certification for sustainable development, TUV NORD Vietnam Co., Ltd., gave an overview of the role of FSMA and FSVP in exporting to the US market and how to apply them to small and medium enterprises at the workshop. Photo: Thanh Minh

Therefore, to take advantage of the benefits and conquer the US market, businesses need to grasp and take advantage of all the incentives and policies in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). One of the most important programs of FSMA is the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP). In which, food importers are required to carry out the necessary verification steps and then evaluate the compliance of foreign suppliers with US food safety standards.

“FSMA is considered a far-reaching reform of the United States that affects not only US food distributors and products but also establishments that need to export food to the United States,” the Deputy Director of ITPC emphasized.

At the workshop, speakers informed the core points of the US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) in exporting to the US market and how to apply them to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Mr. Tran Nguyen Phuoc Hung - Training Director of SMP Consulting and Training Company Limited shared about the foreign supplier audit program and how to help Vietnamese enterprises meet FDA inspection standards at the workshop. Photo: Thanh Minh

In addition, the speakers also shared methods for applying factory requirements and HACCP (the principles used in establishing a food safety management system) according to preventive measures for the FDA inspection program; foreign supplier verification program and ways to help Vietnamese enterprises meet FDA inspection standards...

The workshop provided businesses with a clear view of US regulations in the food industry, especially the role of FSMA and FSVP in accessing this demanding market. This helped businesses grasp regulatory requirements, thereby improving their export capabilities and complying with international standards in the future.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/xuat-khau-thuc-pham-vao-thi-truong-hoa-ky-doanh-nghiep-viet-can-lam-gi-345688.html