Updated | Taiwan to Revise the Regulation on Nutrition Claim for Prepackaged Food Products

Updated:

On August 17, 2023, Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) consulted for the second time on Regulations on Nutrition Claim for Prepackaged Food Products. Any feedback shall be submitted within 60 days from August 17, 2023.

Compared to the first exposure draft, major revisions of this version include:

1. Adding examples of prohibited nutrition claims, including "higher" and "richer in" in the declaration of nutrition facts for foods listed in Table 7.

2. Adding new nutrient content requirements in Table 3 for claims of "high" and "rich in", etc.  Some examples are listed in the table below.

(1) Non-specific population

3. Revising contents in table 7, including changing "Soda water and cola which the amount of calories of sugars shall not be more than 10% of total calories of the drink" to "Carbonated beverages (excluding those that make sugar-free claims in accordance with Table 1)".

4. Revising the timeline: paragraph 4 of point 4 regarding required nutrient amounts for claims related to physiological functions and point 6 on rules for products making multiple nutritional claims are sheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026 instead of January 1, 2023. The other amended provisions are scheduled to take effect on the date of promulgation. In addition, for products that have obtained a special dietary food permit prior to the date of promulgation, those manufactured from January 1, 2026, onwards must adhere to the provisions outlined in this announcement.

On October 13, 2021, Taiwan FDA released a consultation draft of “Regulation on Nutrition Claim for Prepackaged Food Products” (hereinafter the Regulation).¹

Compared to the current effective version, this draft:

1. clarifies the application scope of the Regulation;

According to the draft, the Regulation is applicable to the nutrition claim of prepackaged food. Unless otherwise specified, the Regulation also applicable to the nutrition claim of special dietary food. As explained by Taiwan’s “Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation”, special dietary food refers to infant and follow-up formula, foods for certain diseases, etc. 

2. revises the definition of some terminologies;

The draft revises the definition of “nutrition claim”, “nutrients with moderate intake” as well as “nutrients with supplementary intake”. 

3. adds the method for nutrient content labeling;

The nutrient content should be expressed in unit weight, volume or quantity of the food.

4. amends the content requirement for nutrients that can claim physiological effects;

More nutrients that can claim physiological effects, including protein, vitamin B6, etc., are permitted to be used in foods for special consumption groups like pregnant women. Corresponding content requirements are also given in this regulation. Click here to see permitted expressions of physiological effects. E.g., protein can help growth and development.

5. clarifies the situation when liquid foods bear more than one nutrition claim.

When liquid foods bear more than one nutrition claim, claims should be expressed in “100 mL” or “100 calories”.

Feedback Collection

Any opinion should be sent to [email protected] within 60 days.

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