Taiwan Newly Implemented Food Labeling Regulations

Nutrition claims of packaged foods

July 1, 2015

1. The labeling of sugar content becomes mandatory.

2. Two labeling formats are required, and the energy content and nutrient content “per serving” must be labeled.

3. Daily reference value of energy and all kinds of nutrients, as well as the daily reference intake for 1-3 year-old infants, pregnant women and breast feeding women have been added.

GMO food labeling regulation

July 1, 2015 (for unpackaged foods)

Dec. 31, 2015 (for packaged foods and food additives)

1. Implementation scope has been expanded from merely packaged foods to food additives and unpackaged foods.

2. The percentage of unintentionally added GMO food raw materials should not be more than 3%.

3. Deeply processed products (such as soybean oil, soy sauce and corn syrup) should be labeled with “GMO foods”.

4. The categories of foods approved to be labeled with “non-GMO foods” have been identified.

5. GMO-related characters  must be differentiated from other characters, using a font height and width not less than 2mm.

Food allergen labeling regulation

July 1, 2015

The labeling of six allergenic raw materials including shrimp, crab, mango, peanut, milk (lactitol excluded) and egg becomes mandatory, with the sentences of “XX is contained in this product”, or “XX contained in this product is not suitable for …” or any other equivalent sentences.

Fungus labeling regulation

July 1, 2015

1. The Chinese name and Latin name of fungus should be labeled along with the edible parts (including fruiting body, mycelium, or the mixture of fruiting body and mycelium) and cultivation mode.

2. If mycelium is used rather than fruiting body, it should be labeled as “mycelium” without any picture of the fruiting body.

3. Products containing the “mixture of fruiting body and mycelium” should be labeled with the sentence “this product contains the mixture of XX fruiting body and mycelium” or any other equivalent sentences.