Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security will trace food safety violations across the production and supply chain and punish people and organizations that conceal violations or help commit them. It will also step up efforts against online scam schemes targeting rural residents.
A ministry representative made the statement on October 16 at the first 2026 "Listening to Farmers" forum, organized by the ministry and the Central Vietnam Farmers' Union.
Food safety checks from production to collective kitchens
Colonel Nguyen Ba Thanh said food safety violations occur at many stages, from producing and selling agricultural inputs to livestock farming, slaughtering, processing, and consumption.
They include using banned substances in animal husbandry, selling diseased livestock and poultry, using unapproved chemicals to preserve agricultural products, and supplying unsafe food to kitchens in schools, hospitals, and industrial facilities.
These actions threaten consumer health, harm honest producers, and affect the reputation of Vietnamese agricultural products.
Thanh said the ministry will trace violations from raw material sources, production, and harvesting to intermediaries and sales, and punish those who conceal violations or help commit them.
Police will increase checks on food sources for collective kitchens and work with the Farmers' Union to encourage residents to identify and report violations.
More than 6,000 online scam cases in 21 months
Farmers also raised disguised multilevel marketing schemes and online scams targeting older people and rural residents. Colonel Nguyen Hong Quan said about 4,200 cases were recorded nationwide in 2025, causing losses of about VND 8 trillion. Another 1,800 cases were recorded in the first nine months of 2026.
Criminals collect personal information to build scam scenarios tailored to each victim.
The ministry is introducing facial biometric verification for newly registered mobile numbers with the Ministry of Science and Technology to cross-check and clean data on 135 million subscribers. It is also strengthening bank-account checks with the State Bank and has added a security and public-order reporting function to VNeID.
Quan said online property appropriation scams fell by about 30% from 2024 after authorities dismantled scam networks and sent warnings. He stressed that improving awareness and scam-recognition skills, especially among rural residents, remains important for crime prevention.
Sources: Thanh Niên
