Determining Management Authority over Food Raw Materials

Table of Contents

In reply to Official Letter No. 17845/CHQ-GSQL (23 June 2026) of the Customs Department, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE) gave its opinion on the authority to conduct food safety inspection for 2 imported items:

Korean Red Ginseng Extract Powder — declared HS code 1302.19.90.
Vegetable Fat Powder N40 — declared HS code 2106.90.99.

Principle for determining authority

Food safety management authority is not determined solely by the HS code declared by the enterprise, but must be cross-checked against the actual goods dossier: product name, nature, composition, function, intended use, self-declaration dossier and goods label — in accordance with Appendix III of Decree 15/2018/ND-CP and Circular 01/2024/TT-BNNPTNT.

1. Korean Red Ginseng Extract Powder (HS 1302.19.90)

In principle: it falls under the management of the MAE under Appendix III of Decree 15/2018/ND-CP and Appendix II of Circular 01/2024/TT-BNNPTNT (except products that are medicinal materials/functional foods managed by the Ministry of Health).
Point to note: Circular 09/2024/TT-BYT (List 11, No. 251) identifies “ginseng in fresh/dried form, cut, ground or in powder form” as medicinal material for import-export medicines, HS code 1211.20.90.
Consequence: The actual goods dossier must be used to determine whether the item falls under the authority of the MAE or the Ministry of Health, not relying solely on the declared HS code.

2. Vegetable Fat Powder N40 (HS 2106.90.99)

Conclusion: It does not fall within the list of products managed by the MAE (Appendix III of Decree 15/2018/ND-CP).
Authority that may have jurisdiction: the Ministry of Industry and Trade (the group of processed milk, vegetable oil, flour/starch — Appendix IV of Decree 15/2018/ND-CP; Decision 1182/QD-BCT); if it does not fall under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, it falls under the Ministry of Health (Section 6, Appendix II of Decree 15/2018/ND-CP).
To be clarified: the composition, nature, function, intended use, goods label and self-declaration dossier, in order to correctly determine the managing authority.

(According to Official Letter No. 8190/BNNMT-TTV dated 22 July 2026)

Related services: Customs clearance procedures