The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has asked the Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point (Vietnam SPS Office) to give opinions to tackle difficulties caused by Vietnamese instant noodles subject to ethylene oxide (EO) residual control by the EU.

The MoIT made the request in a document recently sent to the office to prepare for the 84th meeting of the WTO’s SPS Committee.

In February 2022, the EU listed instant noodles from Vietnam as a product subject the regulations on EO residual control.

Since then, the granting of certificates to each batch of export instant noodles has been causing a substantial burden in terms of administrative procedures and commercial expenses on Vietnam, the MoIT said.

Therefore, it asked the Vietnam SPS Office, which is under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, to discuss with relevant agencies and express concerns about differences in the application of rules on EO residual control for food in different countries and territories.

The office should also request the EU provide statistics and assessment about the control of EO residues in instant noodles from Vietnam since February 2022; clarify the basis for applying, maintaining and reducing EO check measures and the requirement for EO residue certificates; and build a plan to gradually remove these measures, according to the MoIT./.