According to USDA FAS GAIN Report VM2021-0023 issued March 17th 2021, Vietnam will phase out the preventive use of antibiotics in livestock production. Regulations are contained in Decree 13/2020 effective December 25th 2020.
The regulations prohibiting the use of specified antibiotics in feed were devised to prevent antimicrobial resistance and will follow the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization recommendations. The antibiotic decree is framed in terms of the Animal Husbandry Law enacted in 2018.
The Government of Vietnam classified veterinary drugs with antibiotic activity into four categories based on their importance in human health. The first category including fluoroquinolones, macrolides, penicillins and cephalosporins were only allowed to be used until the end of December 2020. The second category to be phased out at the end of December 2021 includes lincosamides, tetracyclines and amphenicols. The third category to phased out in December 2022 includes cyclic polypeptides of which bacitracin is the only drug within the group and spectinomycin.
As with U.S. legislation and E.U., requirements are specified for prescription of antibiotics for preventive purposes confined to domestic poultry under three weeks of age.
It is presumed that the regulations relating to antibiotic use will also apply to imported products.