Taiwan to Amend Regulations on the Nutrition Labeling for Prepackaged Food Products

As revealed by an official notice released on Jan. 26, 2022, Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now soliciting public opinions on the revision of “Regulations on Nutrition Labeling for Prepackaged Food Products”. Any feedback should be sent to pennylin94@fda.gov.tw within 60 days after the promulgation of this notice.

Major revisions Compared to the Present Effective Version

• Amendments to definitions and other expressions

E.g., since products can bear the nutrition claim “no/without/zero + the name of a specific nutrient” in accordance with “Regulation on Nutrition Claim for Prepackaged Food Products”, this draft changes the definition of “nutrition claim” specified in Article 2. In this way, the revision allows the product to emphasize the nutrient it does not have.

• Amendments to the unit and labeling method for foods which are in tablet or capsule form

For foods that are in tablet or capsule form (excluding candies), when describing the content per serving, they shall be expressed as containing xxx granule(s)/pallet(s)/tablet(s) per serving.

• Amendments to the conditions for the labeling of “zero” caloric and nutrient value

This draft further clarifies the condition for labeling “zero caloric value” to avoid misunderstanding. It is said that in addition to meeting the content requirement for energy (no more than 4 kcal per 100 g/mL), the amount of carbohydrate, sugar, protein, fat, trans fat and saturated fat shall all meet the zero labeling conditions thereof, then the product is allowed to claim “zero energy”. Description of the zero labeling conditions for nutrients are revised as well.

Moreover, for infant formula products that are labeled with both the unit “per 100 g (or kcal)” and “per 100 mL”, only when their caloric or specific nutrient values satisfy the zero labeling conditions calculated under both the two units (“per 100 g or kcal” and “per 100 mL”), products can bear the corresponding zero labeling of energy or certain nutrients.