Gov't to inspect C.P. Vietnam, CJ Vina Agri, Japfa Comfeed in 2026 food safety review

Vietnam’s Government Inspectorate will inspect three major foreign-invested livestock and animal feed producers, C.P. Vietnam, CJ Vina Agri and Japfa Comfeed Vietnam, in the third quarter of 2026 as part of a nationwide review of compliance with local regulations.

Under an official inspection plan issued late last year, the inspectorate will carry out 89 inspections nationwide in 2026, including 67 formal inspections and 22 contingency inspections.

The three agribusiness groups will be subject to inspections of their "compliance with local regulations on food safety and protection of the environment and natural resources" from 2024 through the time of inspection.

Field inspections are expected to last about 60 working days. The watchdog said the process must remain within its legal mandate, ensure objectivity and accuracy, and avoid disrupting normal business operations.

The inspections aim to identify weaknesses in regulatory compliance and enforcement, and strictly handle any violations in accordance with Vietnamese law if found, the inspectorate said.

The move comes amid heightened public scrutiny over food safety and environmental practices in Vietnam’s livestock and meat supply chain.

Last June, C.P. Vietnam, under Thailand's Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL (CPF), was embroiled in a food safety scandal after a social media account under the name Jonny Lieu (real name Lieu Quy Ngan), who claimed to be a former employee of the CP Fresh Shop in the former southern province of Soc Trang province (now part of Can Tho city), accused the company of ordering the sale of diseased pork and chicken.

C.P. Vietnam denied the allegations and asserted that its products complied with strict quality control procedures. While authoritarian inspections found no evidence of diseased meat in C.P. Vietnam stores, others uncovered violations, including expired safety certificates and a lack of proper documentation, at three outlets.

The following month, the local police investigation agency announced that it had decided not to take legal proceedings against C.P. Vietnam following Lieu Quy Ngan's denunciation of the "crime". The reason, according to the agency, was that "the behavior does not show signs of a crime of violating food safety regulations as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 157 of the Criminal Code."

CJ Vina Agri, a subsidiary of South Korea’s CJ Group, is headquartered in the southern province of Tay Ninh and operates across animal feed production, livestock and aquaculture farming, and the distribution of branded meat products in Vietnam.

Japfa Comfeed Vietnam, based in the northern province of Phu Tho, is part of Indonesia-based Japfa Group, founded in 1971. The company is active in animal feed manufacturing, farm investment and the supply of food products to the domestic market.