5. Rules of the game: routes to market, incentives and reforms

In one paragraph. For food, Vietnam has an open door but no gate: there is no novel-food category, so a new protein food is sold through the same self-declaration as tofu, yet the Food Safety Law also treats "new-technology food not yet permitted for circulation" as recallable, and no procedure exists to obtain that permission. The result is legal uncertainty, not prohibition. Precision-fermented proteins now probably count as "products of a GMO" under a January 2026 decree. For feed, the picture is clearer and more open: insects, duckweed, algae and several yeasts are already permitted livestock feed materials, and a trial route exists for new ones, though the aquafeed list has a drafting gap and using unlisted feed materials now draws fines. Incentives favour biotechnology in general and recombinant proteins in particular, but the largest cash support is out of reach. The October 2026 National Assembly session, which will consider a new Food Safety Law, is the one near-term window to write a proportionate new-food procedure. This chapter is a summary; the full register is in G. Regulation. It is not legal advice.

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#5.1 Who owns what after the 2025 restructuring

On 1 March 2025 Vietnam cut its ministries to 14. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment merged into the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE); the Ministry of Science and Technology absorbed the Ministry of Information and Communications; the Ministry of Finance absorbed the Ministry of Planning and Investment ^1,2,3 VN-directHigh. From 1 July 2025 the country also moved from 63 to 34 provinces and abolished the district tier (P. Admin map) ^4,5 VN-directHigh.

After the mergers, one ministry (MAE) holds feed, aquafeed, GMO biosafety, genetic resources and the carbon market, and one (MOST) holds standards, the sandbox, high-tech status and IP. That makes a coordinated approach to new proteins administratively simpler than before 2025.

#5.2 Food: an open door with no gate

The law. The Law on Food Safety (55/2010, amended 2018) prohibits "using raw materials not of the type used for food to process food" (Art 5(1)) and lists "food that is a new-technology product not yet permitted for circulation" among foods subject to recall (Art 55(1)(c)). No implementing text defines a new-technology product or says how permission is obtained ¹⁵ VN-directHigh.

The procedure in force. Market entry still runs on Decree 15/2018 ^16,17 VN-directHigh:

• Self-declaration (Art 4 to 5) for processed pre-packaged food, additives and processing aids: the firm files its own product specification with a lab test report and may sell immediately. Ingredients made or imported only for a firm's own production are exempt.
• Registration (Art 6 to 8) for health supplements (21 working days at MOH), medical and special-diet foods, products for children under 36 months, and additives with new uses or not on the permitted list (7 working days).
• No provision covers foods with no history of use or new ingredients.

The suspended replacement. Decree 46/2026 (January 2026) and Resolution 66.13/2026, designed to replace much of Decree 15/2018 and tighten declarations and import inspection, caused port congestion and were suspended in February and April 2026 until a new Food Safety Law takes effect ^18,17 VN-directHigh.

The new law. The Ministry of Health's draft revised Food Safety Law has 71 articles in 8 chapters and was notified to the WTO as G/SPS/N/VNM/187 on 3 August 2026, with a stated approval target of October 2026 and entry into force on 1 January 2027 ^19,20 VN-directMedium. A National Assembly deputy said on 22 September 2026 that it will be reviewed at the second 2026 session ²¹ VN-directMedium. Government press describes two product groups: foods that must register a declaration or declare an applied standard before sale, and foods needing no declaration, both under post-market surveillance. The drafters rejected making all pre-packaged foods register ^22,23 VN-directMedium. None of the summaries, submissions or stakeholder comments we read mentions novel food, new ingredients, history of use or a sandbox. We could not read the full draft text ²⁴ VN-directMedium.

What this means. Ordinary plant-based and fermented foods from known ingredients face no pre-approval, now or (as described) after 2027. A genuinely new ingredient, such as a fungal biomass from a strain with no food history, can be self-declared, but an inspector could treat it as "not a food-type raw material" or a "new-technology product not yet permitted", and there is no way to get it cleared in advance. Investors should price this as enforcement-discretion risk. Founders should talk to the Vietnam Food Administration in writing before launch.

#5.3 Precision fermentation and the GMO rules

Decree 43/2026 (effective 26 January 2026) overhauled the GMO rules ^10,25 VN-directHigh:

• one MAE procedure now certifies a GMO for both food and feed use, with 67 working days of expert review, or 17 working days if at least five developed OECD or G20 countries already allow it ^10,26 VN-directMedium;
• gene-edited organisms without foreign DNA are self-assessed and notified;
• a new certificate for GMOs used in closed production (Art 37a), with conditions on donor and recipient safety, containment and waste treatment, filed on Forms 32 and 33 with MAE; the review time, fee and validity were not published in the texts we read ^27,28 VN-directHigh;
• "product of a GMO" now means a product made from a GMO that contains GM genetic material "or protein from the modified gene" ²⁷ VN-directHigh.

A purified recombinant protein is, literally, protein from a modified gene. A precision-fermented protein is therefore probably a "product of a GMO" in Vietnam, even if no DNA remains. GM labelling applies when a GM ingredient exceeds 5% of the product (Decree 15/2018 Art 10) ¹⁶ VN-directHigh. Making it in Vietnam needs the closed-production certificate. No text says whether the purified protein also needs a GMO food-use certificate, which is written for organisms rather than products. This is the single most important open legal question for precision fermentation in Vietnam, and a joint MAE and Ministry of Health clarification would settle it (Policy options).

#5.4 Labelling, allergens and halal

• Vietnam has no mandatory allergen list and no rule on naming plant-based products ("chay", "thuần chay", or the use of "thịt" (meat) and "sữa" (milk)). Labels need only generic "warning information" ^29,30 VN-directMedium. Market practice (soy milk as sữa đậu nành, vegetarian ham as giò chay) relies on general rules against misleading labels.
• A voluntary national halal framework has been in force since 1 June 2026 (Decree 127/2026); it is silent on fermentation-derived or GM-derived ingredients ³¹ VN-directHigh.

#5.5 Feed: more open, with two traps

Livestock and poultry feed. The permitted raw-material list (Circular 21/2019 Appendix VI as amended by Circular 31/2022) already includes insects, aquatic plants including duckweed (bèo) and algae, and since February 2023 inactive yeasts (Torula or Candida yeast, yeast grown on molasses, and by-products of amino-acid production) ^32,33 VN-directHigh. These need no feeding trial, only a certified factory, a conformity declaration against the feed contaminant standard QCVN 01-190:2020 and a label ³⁴ VN-directHigh. The list has not changed since February 2023, and has no entry for bacterial single-cell protein or fungal biomass ^24,35 VN-directMedium.

A new material needs a trial. Feed containing a "new substance" must be trialled under the Law on Animal Husbandry (Art 37) and Circular 94/2025. The livestock department approves the trial protocol (15 plus 5 working days) and recognises the result (15 plus 5 working days); the recognised result is the basis for adding the material to the list, which is updated annually ^36,37 VN-directHigh. Agency time is about 40 working days; the trial itself and the wait for the list update come on top. Our estimate of the total is 6 to 18 months; that is an estimate, not a documented timeline. Results of recognised state research projects are exempt from a separate trial (Art 37(2)) ³⁶ VN-directHigh.

Trap 1: the aquafeed list. Aquafeed has its own permitted list (Circular 16/2026 Appendix II) and its own trial rule: under the Law on Fisheries (Art 35(1)), aquafeed containing any raw material "not on the list" must be trialled ^39,40 VN-directHigh. The appendix has no raw-material section at all. It lists chemicals, bioactives, 30 microorganisms (including Candida utilis, Pichia farinosa, Saccharomyces and Aspergillus oryzae), vitamins and enzymes, but not insect meal, single-cell protein, microalgae, duckweed or fermented soybean meal ³⁹ VN-directHigh. Read literally, the law catches every raw material, including fishmeal; practice evidently differs. A startup cannot tell from the texts whether its ingredient needs an aquafeed trial. A written opinion from the Department of Fisheries is the cheapest fix.

Trap 2: fines. Since 5 August 2026, using a feed raw material not on the permitted list costs VND 10 to 20 million per material, plus a one-to-three-month suspension of feed production and destruction of the material (Decree 211/2026) ⁴¹ VN-directHigh. Running the trial first is now clearly worth its cost.

Provinces decide more. Since July 2025 and January 2026, provincial chairs handle feed-factory certificates, supplement-feed reviews (15 working days), import licences for unlisted feed (10 working days), import inspection, and recognition of aquafeed trial results ^8,9 VN-directHigh. The choice of province now affects time to market.

#5.6 Routes to market at a glance

Routes to market by product type

How each kind of product can legally be sold in Vietnam today

• Clear route
• Route with legal risk
• No route or unpublished timeline

Product type	Status	Route	Documented agency time	Main open risk
Plant-based food from known ingredients	Clear route	Self-declaration (Decree 15/2018). From 2027 (draft law): likely "declare applied standard" or "no declaration"; drafters rejected mandatory registration for all packaged food	Immediate after filing	Transition rules of the new law; no allergen list or naming rule to rely on
Koji or traditional mould fermentation	Clear route	As above	Immediate	Strain and mycotoxin documentation
Fungal biomass or mycoprotein food	Route with legal risk	As above; no ingredient pre-clearance	Immediate (legal risk remains)	Art 5(1) and Art 55(1)(c) of the current law; no sign the draft law adds a clearance route
Microalgae food	Route with legal risk	Self-declaration, or health-supplement registration at MOH (21 working days)	Immediate or 21 working days	New species as for fungal biomass
Precision-fermented protein, imported	Route with legal risk	Self-declaration or own-use exemption; GM label above 5%; VFA registration if used as an unlisted additive	Immediate; 7 working days (additive)	No rule on GMO-derived products; definition still covers the protein
Precision-fermented protein, made in Vietnam	No route or unpublished timeline	Closed-production certificate: Forms 32 and 33, OECD/G20 contained-use standards, environmental licence for waste; then food route	Not published in the texts read	Timeline, fee, issuing level; food-use certificate question
Cultivated meat or seafood	No route or unpublished timeline	No national route. Most concrete option: Hanoi sandbox (biotech priority field; Resolution 29/2025/NQ-HĐND; Decision 6150/QĐ-UBND)	Not read	Whether a city sandbox can set aside national food law
Insect meal, livestock feed	Clear route	Listed ("côn trùng"): no trial; factory certificate; conformity with QCVN 01-190:2020	Factory: 10 + 20 + 5 working days	None major
Insect meal, aquafeed	Route with legal risk	Not on the aquafeed list; the list has no raw-material section. Formally a trial may be needed (Fisheries Law Art 35(1))	20 days appraisal + trial + 10 working days	Ask DFFI in writing whether a trial is required
Duckweed or algae meal, livestock	Clear route	Listed ("bèo", "tảo")	As insect meal	Heavy metals if grown on effluent
Duckweed or microalgae, aquafeed	Route with legal risk	Not listed	As insect meal, aquafeed	As insect meal, aquafeed
Yeast protein, livestock	Clear route	Listed since Feb 2023 (Circular 31/2022)	As insect meal	None major
Yeast protein, aquafeed	Route with legal risk	Candida utilis, Pichia farinosa and S. cerevisiae are listed as microorganisms; yeast protein as a raw material is not listed	Unclear	Whether a microorganism listing covers inactivated yeast biomass used for protein
Bacterial SCP or new microbial biomass, livestock	No route or unpublished timeline	New substance: DLPAH trial and recognition, then list update. Using it unlisted risks VND 10 to 20 million per material and 1 to 3 months' suspension (Decree 211/2026)	Protocol 15 + 5; recognition 15 + 5 working days; trial length by protocol	Annual list update timing
SCP, aquafeed	No route or unpublished timeline	Aquafeed trial and recognition	20 days + trial + 10 working days	Protocol approval authority
Fermented soybean meal, feed	Route with legal risk	Livestock: soybean meal listed; fermentation with listed microbes. Aquafeed: fermenting microbes (Aspergillus, Bacillus) listed; the meal as a raw material is not	As above	As insect meal, aquafeed
New food additive, enzyme or processing aid (e.g. fermentation-derived)	Route with legal risk	Registration of product declaration at VFA for additives not on list or new uses; or MOH list amendment on request with safety evidence	7 working days (registration)	Enzyme/processing-aid pathway not visible in extract; GM-derived additive status

Sources: ^{16,36,37,39,41,27,42} VN-directMedium. The full table with legal bases is in G. Regulation and routes.csv.

#5.7 Incentives

• Corporate income tax. The Law on Corporate Income Tax 67/2025 (effective 1 October 2025) gives 10% for 15 years plus four years' exemption and nine years at 50% to high-tech enterprises and new projects applying listed high technology; agricultural and aquatic processing gets preferential rates ¹⁴ VN-directMedium. The guiding Decree 320/2025 adds two tests that matter here: agricultural processing exemptions need agricultural or aquatic raw materials of at least 30% of production cost (a cassava-based fermentation plant probably passes; one on imported refined sugar may not, our interpretation), and products made with technology applied for the first time in Vietnam get three years of exemption once the novelty is confirmed ⁴³ VN-directMedium.
• The high-technology list. Decision 23/2026 (effective 1 July 2026) lists synthetic biology, new-generation microbial technology, tissue and cell technology in agriculture, and "technology for producing recombinant proteins, enzymes and monoclonal antibodies" as priority high technologies, and recombinant proteins and microbial products among encouraged products. There is no item for alternative protein, food or feed as such ¹² VN-directHigh.
• The Investment Support Fund is out of reach. Decree 182/2024 requires at least VND 12,000 billion of capital or VND 20,000 billion of annual revenue for high-tech product projects, and VND 3,000 billion for R&D centres ⁴⁴ VN-directHigh. No alternative-protein project in Vietnam is near these sizes.
• VAT works against new feed proteins. Feed is "not subject to VAT" since 1 July 2025, so a feed-protein producer cannot reclaim VAT paid on equipment, power and inputs; a food-ingredient producer can ⁴⁵ VN-directHigh. We estimate this adds about 5% to 10% to taxed input costs (see Economics).
• Tariffs give no shelter. Soybean meal and feed maize have been duty-free since March 2025; fishmeal and soybeans were already at 0% ^46,47 VN-directMedium. Food protein ingredients carry small duties (wheat gluten 10%, protein concentrates and textured protein 5%, protein substances 3%, inactive yeast and dead single-cell organisms 7%; 2023 applied MFN rates) ^48,47 VN-directMedium.

#5.8 Sandboxes

The Law on Science, Technology and Innovation (93/2025, effective 1 October 2025) allows controlled testing of technologies and products "not yet regulated or differing from current law" for up to three years, extendable once, with liability exemptions for regulators and implementers who follow the rules ^13,49 VN-directHigh. No national implementing procedure exists yet; the four decrees guiding the law do not set one up ^50,51 VN-directHigh. Hanoi does have one: Resolution 29/2025 sets the procedure under the Capital Law, and Decision 6150 (December 2025) lists biotechnology and high-tech agriculture as priority fields, approved by the Hanoi People's Committee ⁴² VN-directHigh. Hai Phong and Da Nang have technology sandboxes too ⁵² VN-directMedium. The Hanoi sandbox is the most concrete route we found for a supervised cultivated-meat or precision-fermentation pilot, though whether a city sandbox can set aside national food law has not been tested.

#5.9 Strategies: biotechnology yes, alternative protein by name no

• Resolution 36-NQ/TW (2023) targets a biotechnology industry worth 7% of GDP by 2030 and replacement of at least 50% of imported biotech products ⁵³ VN-directHigh.
• Resolution 57-NQ/TW (December 2024) targets R&D spending of 2% of GDP by 2030 and pilot mechanisms for firms to test new technology under state supervision ⁵⁴ VN-directHigh.
• The livestock strategy (Decision 1520/2020) targets 30 to 32 Mt of industrial feed by 2030 and encourages biotech feed materials and by-products such as brewery waste and cassava residue to replace imports ⁵⁵ VN-directHigh.
• The food-systems transformation plan (Decision 300/2023) targets a 10% cut in food-system greenhouse gas emissions against 2020 ⁵⁶ VN-directMedium.

None of these names alternative, novel or microbial protein ^53,55,56 VN-directHigh. The policy language supports the category without committing to it.

#5.10 Genetic resources and strains

Commercial use of Vietnamese genetic resources, including microorganisms isolated from Vietnamese fermented foods or cassava waste, needs an access licence (a council review of up to 90 days, then a decision within 15 days) and benefit sharing of at least 1% of annual product revenue or 2% of the value of an IP transfer (Decree 59/2017) ¹¹ VN-directHigh. Any "indigenous strain" business model must budget for this.

#5.11 How neighbours built their routes

• Singapore: pre-market approval for foods without 20 years of use as food; supplying an unapproved novel food has been an offence since 28 November 2025 ⁵⁷ VN-adjacentHigh. Singapore approval gives no legal status in Vietnam.
• Thailand: a novel-food notification (2016) with safety assessments done by FDA-recognised assessment units, separate forms for cultivated meat and "non-novel" foods, and a published approved list ⁵⁸ VN-adjacentMedium.
• South Korea: amended an existing instrument (temporary standards for new food ingredients) in about nine months to open applications for cell-cultured ingredients in February 2024 ^59,60 VN-adjacentMedium.
• Vietnam's own model: the 2026 GMO decree already contains a reliance lane (17 working days if five developed countries approve). A similar lane for new foods approved by reference regulators would not be a foreign import.

See Region and N. Regional.

#5.12 What this means

• The binding constraint depends on the pathway. Food from known ingredients: none. New food ingredients: legal uncertainty, with no positive clearance. Precision fermentation: GMO product status. Cultivated: no route. Feed: relatively open for listed materials, with the aquafeed ambiguity and new fines for unlisted ones.
• The window is now. A one-line delegation clause in the new Food Safety Law ("the Government shall regulate new foods and new food ingredients"), with the detail in the implementing decree, is cheap and only possible during the October 2026 session. Without it, the next chance may be years away (Policy options).
• Investors: ask for written regulator opinions (Vietnam Food Administration; Department of Fisheries; MAE on GMO status) as diligence items.
• Startups: choose products whose inputs are already listed (feed) or have food history (food); choose your province deliberately; budget for benefit sharing if you commercialise a Vietnamese strain.
• International bodies: technical help for a Thai-style assessment-unit model and a reliance lane fits the 2026 to 2027 drafting window.

Related: G. Regulation, Policy options, P. Admin map.