Newsletter
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION LABELING SYSTEM
In response to growing consumer awareness of health issues in recent years, the Department of Health (DOH) is to require manufacturers to clearly label foodstuffs' nutritional content.
The DOH plans to announce a nutritional in-formation labeling system for the packaged foodstuffs by September at the earliest, to come into force one year after announcement. The labeling system will include two main parts. The first covers basic nutritional information, such as calorific value, protein, fat, carbohydrate and sodium content. The second will regulate nutri-tional claims, so that foods claimed to be low-fat, calcium-rich, high-fiber, sugar-free or to have other special nutritional compositions will have to conform to defined standards, and the content of the relevant constituents will have to be clearly marked.
The new system will first be applied to milk products and packaged drinks, which are of relatively homogenous compositions, making the system relatively easy to apply. It will then be gradually extended to other product categories. After the system comes into effect, incorrect la-beling of foodstuffs will attract penalties under the Food Hygiene Control Law.