Malaysia Soft Drink Regulation

1. Definition and Classification

According to the Food Regulations 1985, soft drink shall be a beverage intended for use as a drink for human consumption either with or without dilution and includes the food for which a standard is prescribed in regulations 349 to 359 of the Food Regulations 1985 (as listed below). But soft drink does not include milk and milk shake, vegetable juice, fruit juice, tea, coffee, chicory, cocoa and their related products as specified in these Regulations. It shall not contain any added alcohol.

Regulation No.	Product category	Regulation No.	Product category
Regulation 349	Syrup	Regulation 355	Soft drink base or soft drink premix
Regulation 350	Fruit syrup, fresh cordial or fruit squash	Regulation 356	Botanical beverage mix
Regulation 351	Flavoured syrup or flavoured cordial	Regulation 357	Soya bean milk
Regulation 352	Fruit juice drink	Regulation 358	Soya bean drink
Regulation 353	Fruit drink	Regulation 359	[Repealed]
Regulation 354	Flavoured drink	/	/

2. Competent Authority and Responsibilities

Competent authority	Responsibility
Ministry of Health (MOH), especially the Food Safety and Quality Program	Oversees the country’s food safety and quality control Develops food safety and quality policies and legislation Monitors and enforces compliance for imported and domestic food
Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN)	Develops policies and strategies for the domestic trade, including distributive trade and consumerism sectors
Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM)	Manages halal compliance, which are mandatory to animal-based products
Malaysia Quarantine and Inspection Services (MAQIS)	Conducts quarantine and inspection
Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD)	Handles customs clearance and importation

3. Regulatory Framework

The Food Act 1983 and its subsidiary legislation, the Food Regulations 1985, serve as the primary laws governing food safety and quality. Enterprises may also need to comply with other regulations issued by various departments:

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4. Market Access Approval

4.1 Overall import procedure

Before exporting products to Malaysia, overseas enterprises must ensure that the food products comply with the provisions specified in the Food Act 1983 and Food Regulations 1985. Part of the product compliance requirements is detailed in “4.2 Product Compliance.”

Moreover, before the exportation, importing and shipping agents (customs brokers) of overseas enterprises are required to register with the Malaysian Food Safety Information System (FoSIM). The system is linked to the Royal Malaysian Customs Department's system known as the Customs Information System (CIS), allowing importers, shipping agents, and Authorized Officers to manage food importation activities electronically using a risk-based approach.

The overall importation procedure is summarized below.

4.2 Product compliance

The compliance requirements for different products are outlined in the Food Act 1983 and the Food Regulations 1985. For example, regulations regarding incidental constituents, like metal contaminants, can be found in Part VII of the Food Regulations 1985.

Part of the compliance requirements for certain soft drinks are summarized as below.

Regulation No.	Product category	Product compliance
Regulation 352	Fruit juice drink	Composed of potable water, unfermented fruit juice or an unfermented mixture of the juice and other edible portions of one or more types of fruits, with or without sugar, glucose or high fructose glucose syrup and shall contain not less than 35 per cent w/v of fruit juice May contain carbon dioxide May contain permitted preservative, permitted colouring substance, permitted flavouring substance and permitted food conditioner The permitted flavouring substance that may be added to fruit juice drink shall be natural flavouring substance; and natural-identical flavouring substance.
Regulation 353	Fruit drink	Containing not less than 5 per cent w/v of fruit juice; Fruit juice may contain permitted preservative, permitted colouring substance, permitted flavouring substance and permitted food conditioner The permitted flavouring substance that may be added to fruit drink shall be natural flavouring substance; and nature-identical flavouring substance.
Regulation 354	Flavoured drink	Composed of potable water and permitted flavouring substance, with or without sugar, glucose, high fructose glucose syrup or edible portions or extracts of fruit or other plant substance May contain carbon dioxide May contain permitted preservative, permitted colouring substance and permitted food conditioner including ester gum not exceeding 150 mg/l and b-cyclodextrin not exceeding 500mg/l May contain caffeine – containing plant extract as permitted flavouring substance in a proportion not exceeding 200 mg/litre May contain permitted preservative, permitted colouring substance and permitted food conditioner

Food additive usage compliance in Malaysia can be found in ChemLinked's FoodCheck tool.

5. Label

Beverage products must first adhere to the general labeling requirements and product labeling requirements as specified in the Food Act 1983 and Food Regulations 1985. Then such products shall also meet the labeling requirements put forward by other authorities such as:

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Details regarding labeling requirements can be found at ChemLinked's FoodCheck tool. For allergen labeling, please read ChemLinked article "How to Label Food Allergen Information for the Malaysian Market".

Recommended materials:

Online course: Focus on Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea: Food Compliance and Import Procedure Interpretation
Online course: Unlock Food Labeling Requirements in Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia

* Global Food Compliance Service

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Tags: Malaysia Beverage Regulation & Standard