The basic export document set for food

A food shipment travels with a set of papers that looks much the same in every market: commercial invoice, packing list, contract or purchase order, certificate of origin, a health or phytosanitary certificate where the destination requires one, a lot analysis report, the bill of lading, and copies of the facility certificates. Color of Vietnam has not exported yet and has not announced a market, but we have drafted this set for an imaginary shipment. This piece goes through each group of documents and what the draft taught us.

Group one: commercial documents

These describe the transaction. Three main papers:

• Commercial invoice: seller, buyer, goods description, HS code (the customs classification code used worldwide), quantity, unit price, delivery terms under Incoterms, and currency.
• Packing list: number of cartons, units per carton, net and gross weight, carton dimensions, number of pallets, lot codes and best-before dates.
• Sales contract or confirmed purchase order.

The most common error is not on one paper but between them: the product named three different ways, weight units switching from grams to kilograms halfway through, a carton count on the packing list that does not match the invoice. Customs officers and banks compare line by line, so one different word becomes one more query email.

Group two: origin and safety

This group answers two questions: where the goods come from and whether they are safe.

• Certificate of origin, usually called the C/O: issued by a competent authority or chamber of commerce, confirming Vietnamese origin under the rules of the relevant trade agreement. The buyer needs it to claim preferential duty where that exists. To apply, the brand has to declare the origin of each main ingredient.
• Health certificate: issued by the regulator for the shipment, confirming the product was made in an approved facility and meets safety requirements. Not every market asks for it, but many do.
• Phytosanitary certificate: for goods of plant origin. Processed snacks are often exempt, but some destinations still ask, so it must be confirmed with the buyer in advance.
• Lot analysis report, the COA (certificate of analysis): microbiological, heavy metal or other test results for the exact lot being shipped.

Group three: transport and facility papers

• Bill of lading for sea freight or air waybill for air freight: issued by the carrier, serving both as a receipt for the goods and as the document needed to collect them at the destination port.
• Cargo insurance certificate, where the delivery terms include insurance.
• Copies of the production facility's certificates. For us that means ISO 22000:2018 (currently being renewed), Halal from HCA recognised by JAKIM, and the US FDA food facility registration held by our partner facilities.
• Depending on the market: a certificate of free sale, the product specification sheet, and the approved label artwork.

An example: a draft file for one carton of PLAY Nutrition bars

We built a folder for one carton of PLAY Nutrition bars as if it were leaving on a container the following week. Every paper on the list above was drafted, and any we could not yet obtain was marked with where to apply and how long it takes. Three things showed up at once.

First, the invoice, the packing list and the specification sheet named the same product three different ways. We fixed one standard product name and one weight unit for every document. Second, for the C/O, the oats and cranberries in the bar are not grown in Vietnam, so the origin criterion has to be clarified with the issuing body before we say anything to a buyer about preferential duty. The specification sheet gained a column for the origin of each ingredient. Third, the health certificate needs the analysis report for that exact lot, which means laboratory turnaround time has to sit inside the shipping calendar, not after it.

There is no order behind this folder. But when a real order comes, we will not be learning those three lessons while a vessel waits.

What this means for buyers and for candidates

For an importer, the document set is something you can ask us about even before samples. If you have your own document checklist for your market, send it to us. We will draft against that exact list and tell you which papers are available immediately and which need to be applied for. Reach us through the Contact page or at support@colorvietnam.com. For candidates, anyone building products at a company preparing for export needs to be able to read every paper in this set, because many of its lines come from the specification sheet they write. Our open roles are on the Careers page.