The city is tightening controls on high-risk food items, business types and areas, seeking to prevent unsafe food from entering household meals during the country’s biggest holiday of the year, according to local authorities.

Hanoi has issued an early peak-season inspection plan for the Lunar New Year and Spring Festival 2026, running from late December 2025 until the end of February 2026.

Health authorities said inspection teams are focusing on products widely consumed during the holiday, including meat, seafood, frozen foods, confectionery, alcoholic beverages and soft drinks, as well as restaurants, catering services, collective kitchens and street food vendors. Surprise inspections have been increased, with strict penalties for violations involving origin, hygiene conditions and processing and storage practices.

The city’s market watchdog is also conducting inspections across both urban and suburban areas, targeting hotspots for smuggling, trade fraud and food of unclear origin. Large quantities of spoiled and unsafe food have been seized and destroyed, helping to clean up the market ahead of the holiday.

At the local level, wards and communes have been instructed to intensify monitoring of small-scale slaughterhouses, makeshift markets and unhygienic street food outlets that are long-standing weaknesses in food safety management.

Authorities are also increasing oversight of food sold via online platforms, where ready-to-eat foods, homemade confectionery and handcrafted alcoholic drinks are widely advertised but difficult to regulate.

Hanoi’s food safety agency said the period leading up to the Lunar New Year is a critical time, with heightened risks of food safety violations, and inter-agency inspection teams will continue operating regularly to avoid any regulatory gaps.

Consumers are advised to buy food from reputable, licensed sellers, avoid products showing signs of spoilage or lacking labels and expiry dates, and remain cautious when purchasing food online.

Vietnamese people will enjoy a nine-day off work to celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday, starting on February 14.

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