Spring rolls, dumplings, breaded shrimp, tempura, cut fruit and rice noodles: a great deal of the frozen food sold in Japanese supermarkets and restaurants is made in Vietnam, by factories that have worked for export buyers for years. Making your own frozen product there is a realistic plan. But frozen food has a quality dimension that shelf-stable food does not. The product is only as good as the coldest link in a chain that runs from the factory freezer to your customer’s store, and a single break in that chain cannot be undone.
This article covers what to specify for a frozen private-label product: the freezing method, glazing and weights, packaging, the temperature record from factory to destination, and — for products going to Japan — the storage standard in Japanese law and the industry figure most contracts use. The general food checks (licence, recipe ownership, shelf life) are in private-label food made in Vietnam.
💬 Planning a frozen product under your brand? Tell us what it is and where it will be sold.
Choose the freezing method with the product
Individual quick freezing, plate or block freezing and blast freezing give different products; specify the method, because it decides texture, drip loss and how the product can be used.
| Method | How it works | Suits | What to specify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual quick freezing (IQF) | Pieces frozen separately and fast, usually on a tunnel or spiral | Shrimp, fish fillets, fruit pieces, dumplings | Free-flowing pieces; core temperature at exit |
| Plate or block freezing | Product frozen in blocks between plates | Raw material for further processing, some seafood | Block size and weight; thawing intended by the user |
| Blast freezing | Packed or tray product frozen in a cold air room | Prepared meals, larger items | Time to reach the target core temperature |
Fast freezing keeps ice crystals small and limits drip loss and texture damage when the product is thawed or cooked. Ask the factory which freezers it runs, which products go through the one you would use, and what core temperature is reached at the exit and recorded.
Glaze, weight and packaging
For frozen seafood and some other products, the ice glaze, the declared weight and the packaging must be specified together, or the weight on your label and the product in the bag will not agree.
- Glaze. A thin layer of ice protects seafood from dehydration and oxidation in storage. Specify the glaze level and how net weight is measured — with or without glaze — and check how your market treats glaze in the declared weight.
- Net weight and tolerances. State the declared weight, the tolerance and the method of checking, per pack and per carton.
- Packaging. Specify the film or tray, the seal, and whether the inner pack is vacuum-sealed or not. Cartons must stand stacking in a cold store and in a reefer container.
- Labelling. Product name, storage instruction, best-before date and cooking instructions in the language of the market. Japanese labelling is covered in Japanese labelling for imported food.
Cooking instructions deserve a test of their own. A frozen spring roll or a breaded shrimp printed with a frying time has to reach a safe core temperature and an acceptable texture when your customer follows that instruction with the equipment they actually use — a home frying pan, a microwave of a given power, a restaurant fryer. Ask the factory to cook samples exactly as the pack instructs and record the core temperature reached, and repeat the check whenever the product size or the coating changes.
Also decide whether the product is sold ready to eat after heating or must be fully cooked by the user. The distinction changes the microbiological criteria the factory must meet, the wording on the pack and, in some markets, the category the product falls into. It should be fixed in the specification before the first sample, not discovered at the border.
Keep the chain cold, and keep the record
Specify the temperature at every stage from the factory freezer to the destination warehouse, and require a continuous record that shows it was held.
| Stage | What to specify | Record you receive |
|---|---|---|
| Factory freezing | Core temperature at freezer exit | Freezer log per batch |
| Factory cold store | Storage temperature | Cold store temperature log |
| Stuffing the container | Reefer pre-cooled; loading time limited | Container pre-trip and set-point record |
| Sea transit | Reefer set-point | Reefer temperature download |
| Arrival and clearance | Time out of refrigeration minimised | Arrival temperature check |
| Destination cold store | Storage temperature | Receiving record |
Two points are worth writing into the contract. First, pre-cool the container to the set-point before loading and limit how long the doors stay open; warm product loaded into a reefer will not be brought down quickly by the unit, which is designed to hold temperature rather than to freeze. Second, agree who is responsible at each handover — factory, trucker, forwarder, shipping line — and require each to keep and supply its temperature record. Without a continuous record, you cannot show where a temperature break happened, and cannot recover the loss from anyone.
💬 We find, vet and manage the Vietnamese frozen food manufacturer that fits your product, and check the cold chain at the factory and loading — see our OEM and private-label service.
The Japanese storage standard and the industry figure
Japanese law requires packaged frozen food to be stored at minus 15°C or below, while the industry standard used in most contracts is minus 18°C or below — write the stricter figure into your specification.
| Item | Content | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Import notification | Anyone importing food for sale or business use must notify each import; the quarantine stations handle it | Food Sanitation Act, Article 27 |
| Advance filing | Notification can be filed from seven days before the expected arrival date | Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare import procedure guidance |
| Legal storage standard | Packaged frozen food stored at minus 15°C or below | Specifications and Standards for Food, Food Additives, etc. (MHLW Notification No. 370 of 1959) |
| Industry standard | Product temperature at minus 18°C or below, set by the Japan Frozen Foods Association in 1971; the Codex code of practice also sets minus 18°C or below for storage | Published materials of the association |
| Hygiene management | Hygiene management in line with HACCP principles required of food businesses in principle from 1 June 2021 | Amended Food Sanitation Act |
Checked against the published pages of each body on 17 October 2026. The import procedure itself is covered in Japan’s food import notification procedure.
Tests and documents by product type
The tests that matter depend on the product: histamine and veterinary drug residues for some seafood, microbiology and foreign matter for prepared foods, pesticide residues for vegetables and fruit.
- Seafood. Histamine for scombroid species such as tuna and mackerel; veterinary drug residues for farmed shrimp and fish; the health certificate the destination requires. How Vietnamese seafood health certificates work is covered in Vietnam seafood export health certificates.
- Prepared foods. Microbiological criteria, foreign-matter control, and allergen labelling for ingredients such as shrimp, wheat and egg.
- Vegetables and fruit. Pesticide residues against the destination’s limits — for Japan, the positive list system.
Agree the test list per lot, the accredited laboratory and when the certificate is supplied, before the first order.
The checks before the first frozen lot
Before the first lot, confirm the licence and scope, the freezing method, the specification of glaze and weight, the temperature records and the test list in writing.
The factory needs a food safety eligibility certificate or a recognised certification such as HACCP, ISO 22000 or FSSC 22000 covering the product, under Decree 15/2018/ND-CP, which continues to apply while Decree 46/2026/ND-CP remains suspended under Resolution 15/2026/NQ-CP. Approve a pre-production sample cooked the way your customer will cook it, and retain samples on both sides; see sample approval stages. Frozen products also meet the Lunar New Year shutdown head-on: cold stores fill before the break and reefers are in demand, so plan around it with planning production around Tết.
💬 For each project we find, vet and manage the manufacturer that fits, and follow the first lot through loading. Tell us about your frozen product.
Frequently asked questions
1. Should I write minus 18°C or minus 15°C into the contract?
Minus 18°C or below. Japanese law sets minus 15°C or below for storing packaged frozen food, but minus 18°C is the industry standard most buyers and logistics providers work to.
2. What is IQF and do I need it?
Individual quick freezing freezes pieces separately and fast. It suits products sold as free-flowing pieces, such as shrimp or fruit. Prepared meals in trays are usually blast frozen instead.
3. How do I prove where a temperature break happened?
Only with continuous records from each party: factory freezer and cold store logs, the container pre-trip and set-point record, the reefer download and the receiving check. Make supplying them a contractual obligation.
4. Does the glaze count in the net weight?
That depends on how your market treats it; specify the glaze level and the weighing method so the label and the product agree.
5. Can I start with a small frozen order?
It depends on the line and the packaging, and frozen freight works best in full reefer containers. A first order shared with other products or another shipper’s goods is possible but needs careful temperature control at consolidation.
Sources: Japan Food Sanitation Act, Article 27; MHLW Notification No. 370 of 1959; published materials of the Japan Frozen Foods Association; Decree 15/2018/ND-CP; Resolution 15/2026/NQ-CP. Checked on 17 October 2026.