Even Brice, Truong Trang Thi Thu, Thai Hang Thi Minh, Pham Huong Thi Mai, Nguyen Duong Thu, Bui Anh Thi Viet, Béné Christophe
Food Environment and Consumer Behaviour, International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Center for Agricultural Policy, Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Front Public Health. 2025 Apr 22;13:1548956. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1548956. eCollection 2025.
Food systems and food environments are evolving rapidly in Viet Nam, concurrently with significant shifts in dietary patterns and health outcomes. This study aims to identify critical gaps in the national regulatory framework governing food environment in Viet Nam and to propose actionable recommendations to overcome these gaps.
Using the Food Environment Policy Index from the INFORMAS network, we mobilized a transdisciplinary panel of 18 experts to co-analyze and assess policy evidence, as well as co-develop policy recommendations. The assessment, encompassing 35 indicators across six food environment domains, revealed substantial gaps: 74% of indicators scored low or very low, while only 26% scored medium or high. Key gaps were identified in food composition standards, marketing, labeling, and financial incentives. Recommendations from the experts focused on strengthening food composition standards, enhancing consumer education, and fostering inter-sectoral policy integration.
This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of Viet Nam's food environment policies and offers actionable recommendations to foster food environments conducive of healthier diets. Drawing on Viet Nam as a case study representative of challenges in other low- and middle-income countries, our findings highlight the importance of strong political commitment to prioritize public health over industry interests in order to create healthier, more equitable food environments and food systems.
越南的食品体系和食品环境正在迅速演变，与此同时，饮食模式和健康结果也发生了重大变化。本研究旨在找出越南食品环境国家监管框架中的关键差距，并提出可采取行动的建议以弥补这些差距。
利用INFORMAS网络的食品环境政策指数，我们召集了一个由18名专家组成的跨学科小组，共同分析和评估政策证据，并共同制定政策建议。该评估涵盖六个食品环境领域的35项指标，结果显示存在重大差距：74%的指标得分低或非常低，只有26%的指标得分中等或高。在食品成分标准、营销、标签和财政激励方面发现了关键差距。专家们提出的建议集中在加强食品成分标准、加强消费者教育以及促进部门间政策整合。
本研究对越南的食品环境政策进行了全面评估，并提出了可采取行动的建议，以营造有利于更健康饮食的食品环境。以越南为代表其他低收入和中等收入国家所面临挑战的案例研究，我们的研究结果凸显了坚定的政治承诺的重要性，即优先考虑公众健康而非行业利益，以创造更健康、更公平的食品环境和食品体系。
