The inspections were conducted between April 15 and May 15 as part of the country's Food Safety Action Month campaign, according to the Ministry of Health.
According to the ministry, 3,392 inspection teams were deployed across 34 provinces and cities, carrying out checks on 62,052 food production, processing and trading establishments. Violations were detected at 5,749 establishments.
More than 3,600 businesses were fined a combined VND 22.4 billion (USD 860,000), while 29 were suspended and 17 cases were referred to police.
Inspectors conduct a food safety inspection at a collective kitchen during the nationwide campaign (Photo: Food Safety Department).
Authorities also seized around 15 tonnes of products, including pork skin, sausages, confectionery and frozen foods of unknown origin. Products worth more than VND 3.3 billion were destroyed.
More than 1,140 food products lacking clear origin records, including chicken feet, frozen squid, snacks and beverages, were removed from the market.
Laboratory testing identified 25 non-compliant samples among 1,821 food samples examined. Rapid screening tests found 1,330 failures among 17,419 samples, equivalent to 7.6 per cent.
At the central level, five inter-agency inspection teams checked 15 food businesses, with one establishment in Vinh Long Province fined VND 16 million for violations.
The results captured only part of the food safety landscape, given the large number of small-scale businesses and street food vendors.
Authorities warned of ongoing risks including poor hygiene, inadequate ingredient traceability and the sale of expired or untraceable food products.
The Ministry of Health said food smuggling, counterfeit food products and deliberate violations of food safety regulations remain concerns in some areas, requiring stronger coordination with police, customs and other enforcement agencies.