Request a Demo
In 2024, the global food regulatory landscape underwent a series of significant updates that affected various sectors within the food industry. As the year came to a close, ChemLinked identified the top 10 most important regulatory changes, emphasizing key developments that have shaped or will shape market access requirements. Notably, while some regulations, such as the EU's adoption of the Regulation on Packaging and Packaging Waste (PPWR), are significant, this article emphasizes food-focused regulations.
1. Chinese Mainland Introduces 53 New GB Standards, with Food Additives, Food Contact Materials and Dairy Products Involved
On March 12, 2024, China's National Health Commission (NHC) and State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) jointly published 47 new national food safety standards and 6 amendment sheets to existing ones. These new standards include 1 for dairy products, 1 for food contact materials, 7 for food testing methods, 16 for microbial testing methods and 22 for food additives and nutritional fortifiers. For the six amendment sheets, they are all related to specific food additives.
Several key standards are included:
The full text of all those standards can be found in ChemLinked Food Laws & Regulations Database. For details about these new GB standards, please click here.
CL interpretation Most of these standards have already been enforced in 2024, except for the three key standards mentioned above. These three standards will come into force on February 8, 2025. Stakeholders are recommended to get prepared for compliance with these new standards, especially for GB 2760-2024, since it is a significant update to China’s food additive legislation, you may click here to learn about GB 2760-2024. |
2. Chinese Mainland Proposes Two Drafts of Amendment to GB 7718 on Food Labeling
In 2024, China released two drafts of GB 7718 General Standard for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods, aiming to update the 2011 regulation.
The first draft was released on January 19, 2024. This draft aims to amend the application scope, revise the labeling rules for production date and composite ingredients, further clarify the labeling of imported foods, promote the use of digital labels, and improve food claims. More details can be found at here.
The second draft was released on June 27, 2024, along with another draft of labeling standard titled Administrative Measures for Supervision of Food Labeling. These two drafts are promulgated to work in coordination to effectively manage food labeling. More details can be found at here.
CL interpretation GB 7718 is the overarching regulation for the standardization of food labeling in China, which came into effect in 2011. Since then, China has released several new versions aiming to replace the 2011 version, including the first draft in 2018 and the second draft in 2019. Now after a decade of its implementation, China proposed another two draft versions, mirroring that we’re one step closer to the final release of the new GB 7718 standard. |
3. Taiwan, China Revises Regulations on Nutrition Claim for Prepackaged Food Products
On February 19, 2024, Taiwan Food and Drug Administration promulgated the revised Regulations on Nutrition Claim for Prepackaged Food Products. Provisions in the Regulations took effect immediately upon promulgation, except for Paragraphs 1 and 4 of point 4, Point 5 and point 6, which are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.
Significant revisions include:
Inclusion of special dietary food
Simplification of requirements for claims like "contain", "source"
New nutrients and requirements introduced for claims such as “high”, “rich in”
Addition of prohibited claims for food categories in Table 7
Read more about the revisions here.
CL interpretation With the simplification of requirements for claims such as "contain" and "source”, products can now feature factual nutrition content on their packaging to convey the presence of specific nutrients. Furthermore, as more nutrients, such as protein and Vitamin B6, are permitted to carry claims like "high" and "rich in", this creates opportunities for food enterprises to better showcase their product advantages. |
4. Japan Proposes to Revise the Food Labeling Standards
On December 24, 2024, Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) released a draft amendment to the Food Labeling Standards. The proposed changes mainly concern food additives and nutrition labeling. The overall implementation is expected on April 1, 2025, with amendments to "Frozen Processed Foods" in specific Appendix Tables starting April 1, 2026, and other revisions having 3- to 5-year transition periods.
Key amendments include:
Removal of nutrient fortification additive labeling exemption
Revision of nutrient labeling values
Review of labeling rules for individual items
Read more about the draft here.
CL interpretation The revision of nutrient labeling values, aligned with the 2025 Japanese Dietary Intake Standards, directly impacts how food businesses label their products. These updated values, calculated based on the average nutrient intake of various demographic groups in Japan, set new benchmarks for recommended daily intake displayed on labeling. Food manufacturers must update their product labels accordingly to ensure compliance and avoid misleading consumers. |
5. Singapore Introduces the Food Safety and Security Bill
On November 12, 2024, the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment of Singapore released the Food Safety and Security Bill (FSSB) for first reading in parliament. Since August 2023, the Ministry has extensively discussed the proposed FSSB provisions with industry stakeholders, with public consultations via REACH took place from March to September 2024.
As revealed by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), the FSSB will be implemented to consolidate food-related legislation into a single framework for easier compliance, strengthen food safety by covering all food supply channels, and mandate traceability records for key distribution points. The bill also increases penalties for non-compliance, including disqualifying repeat offenders from reapplying for licenses. (Read more)
CL interpretation Expanded rules cover all food distribution, with higher penalties for non-compliance. Enterprises must align with public health regulations, including Nutri-Grade labeling, to meet updated safety and nutrition standards. |
6. Thailand Implements New Nutrition Labeling Regulations
On January 5, 2024, Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unveiled three notifications related to the nutrition labeling of prepackaged food, including:
Ministry of Public Health Notification (No. 445) B.E. 2023 regarding Nutrition Labels
Ministry of Public Health Notification (No. 447) B.E. 2023 regarding Health Claims of Food on Labels
These notifications entered into force on July 2, 2024 with a three-year grace period. The amendments to MOPH Notification No. 445 regarding Nutrition Labels involve the revision to application scope, change of nutrients subject to mandatory labeling (from 15 to 9 items), adjustment of nutrition information panel, update of Thai Reference Daily Intakes and criteria of some content claims.
MOPH Notification No. 447 regarding Health Claims of Food on Labels is a newly drafted regulation, which specifies the criteria and conditions of function claims of food.
As for MOPH Notification No. 446 regarding Foods Required to Display Nutrition Labels and Levels of Energy, Sugar, Fat and Sodium in GDA format (No. 2), there is no substantial change but clarifies that the nutrition label mentioned in MOPH Notification No. 394 Re: Food products Required to bear Nutrition Labelling and Guideline Daily Amounts, GDA Labelling should comply with the formats and conditions specified in the latest MOPH Notification regarding nutrition label. (Read more)
CL interpretation Ministry of Public Health Notification (No. 445) B.E. 2023 regarding Nutrition Labels is a significant regulatory reference for nutrition labeling of food in Thailand, which specifies the application scope, the format of the nutritional information box, reference single serving for various types of food, criteria for making nutrition claims on label, etc. Since a three-year grace period was given, food products aligning with the old requirements can continue to be sold in Thailand before July 1st, 2027. Enterprises could have sufficient time to prepare for the new requirements. The requirements for food’s function claims were previously mentioned in the MOPH Notification regarding Nutrition Label, but now they are removed and specialized in the newly drafted MOPH Notification (No. 447). |
7. Indonesia Enforces Mandatory Halal Certification, with Imported Foods Postponed by 2026
On October 18, 2024, with the release of Government Regulation No. 42 of 2024 on the Implementation of the Field of Halal Product Assurance, Indonesia BPJPH announced the official enforcement of the first phase of mandatory halal certification. This requirement currently applies to three categories of products produced by medium and large businesses: food and beverages, food raw materials and additives, and slaughtered products and services. These categories must be halal-certified starting October 18, 2024. Micro and small enterprises producing the same three categories of products are granted an extended deadline to obtain halal certification, with a final compliance date of October 17, 2026. For imported products, the halal certification requirement will be determined by the Ministry of Religious Affairs no later than October 17, 2026. (Read more)
CL interpretation Indonesia had planned its halal certification targets for products several years ago and officially launched the first phase of mandatory halal certification for food on October 18, 2024. Although it was previously reported that imported food would undergo halal certification simultaneously with domestic products, it has now been clarified that the mandatory certification timeline for imported food has not yet been finalized. Nevertheless, companies intending to export food to Indonesia are still advised to obtain the relevant certification as soon as possible to prepare for future market access. |
8. Philippines Updates Requirements for License to Operate (LTO) Application
On November 27, 2024, the Philippines FDA unveiled Administrative Order No. 2024-0015 Prescribing the Rules, Requirements and Procedures in the Application for License to Operate of Covered Health Product Establishments, which took effect on December 12, 2024. This new order prescribes the updated rules, requirements and procedures for LTO application, aligns with internationally acceptable standards and new local regulations, and institutionalizes a longer validity period of LTO, and the administrative reconsideration mechanism in the regulatory licensing processes. (Read more)
CL interpretation The Philippines requires all enterprises that manufacture, import, distribute, or sell food products must obtain a License to Operate (LTO) from the FDA. Relevant enterprises should comply with this new order when applying for LTO. |
9. Vietnam to Amend Food Safety Law 2010, Requiring All Food Products to Register Product Declarations
On August 15, 2024, the Vietnam Food Administration (VFA) consulted on amendments to Food Safety Law 2010. The draft is planned to be submitted to the National Congress in May 2025.
In terms of major amendments, this Draft:
Requires all foods, food additives, and food contact materials to get their product declaration registered with the authority before circulating in the market. The validity period is 5 years. The proposal also intends to prescribe the procedures for revoking product declaration registrations.
Supplements the requirements for food production and adds the requirements for periodic testing.
Clarifies that imported food products must complete the customs declaration prior to the importation. Test methods for different types of products will be stipulated in the future.
Intends to add additional requirements for registering the advertising content. (As it is an initial draft, details have not been established.)
Read more about the draft here.
CL interpretation Vietnam is tightening the control on food safety. Currently, most prepackaged foods are subject to self-declaration model before being exported to Vietnam. Now, the draft requires them to follow the “product declaration registration” model. This will affect products like beverage, milk products, food contact materials, etc., which are previously subject to the self-declaration model. Besides, as Vietnam intends to prescribe the procedures for revoking product declaration registrations and the “Certificate of satisfaction of food safety conditions”, enterprises should ensure the ongoing product compliance with food safety regulations. |
10. Canada Finalizes the Amendments to Certain Regulations on Food Additives, Compositional Standards, Microbial Limits
On December 18 2024, Canada published the final Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Concerning Food Additives and Compositional Standards, Microbiological Criteria and Methods of Analysis for Food (the Regulations) in the Canada Gazette, Part II. The Regulations took effect immediately after its publication, amending the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) to modernize the frameworks governing food compositional standards, microbiological safety criteria for food, methods of analysis for food, and food additives. (Read more)
CL interpretation The final publication of these amendments marks a big step in the modernization of regulatory frameworks governing food compositional standards, microbiological safety criteria for food, methods of analysis for food, and food additives. |
We provide full-scale global food market entry services (including product registration, ingredient review, regulatory consultation, customized training, market research, branding strategy). Please contact us to discuss how we can help you by 
