Malaysia Updates Dairy and Eggs Standards with New Regulatory Measures

Malaysia has amended its food safety regulations to strengthen oversight of milk, yogurt, cheese, and eggs through multiple schedule updates and Codex alignment, including changes to HS codes and subregulations

Compliance Analysis: Recent Amendments to Malaysia’s Food Safety Regulations for Milk, Yogurt, Cheese, and Eggs

Malaysia has recently strengthened its food safety oversight for milk, yogurt, cheese, and eggs through targeted amendments to the Food Regulations 1985¹, primarily under the Food Act 1983¹. These changes include stricter definitions, labeling restrictions, pesticide residue limits, and alignment with Codex standards, particularly for dairy products and eggs. Below is a structured breakdown of the key amendments, their requirements, and enforcement timelines.

1. Key Amendments to Milk and Milk Products

The amendments focus on raw milk specifications, labeling restrictions for recombined/reconstituted milk, and drug residue controls, as outlined in Regulations 82 and 117 of the Food Regulations 1985¹.

Additional Notes:

• HS Code 04.01 (milk and cream, not concentrated nor containing added sugar) is explicitly covered¹.
• The amendments aim to protect consumer health and prevent misleading labeling¹.

2. Pesticide Residue Limits (Sixteenth Schedule Amendments)

The Sixteenth Schedule of the Food Regulations 1985 has been updated to include new pesticides and maximum residue limits (MRLs) for dairy-related commodities (e.g., eggs, vegetables) and other foods. Key changes include:

Additional Notes:

• Palm oil (HS 1517.90) is also included in some MRL updates^{3, 4}.
• These amendments apply to all trading partners^{3, 2, 4}.

3. Labeling and Hypersensitivity Ingredients (Subregulation 11(5))

Subregulation 11(5) has been amended to revise the list of ingredients known to cause hypersensitivity, aligning with Codex standards⁵. While the exact ingredients are not specified in the provided sources, this change affects all foods (ICS Code: 67) and aims to enhance food safety⁵.

Key Points:

• Objective: Food safety⁵.
• Applicability: All foods⁵.
• Deadline: 60 days for comments from notification date (e.g., 10 October 2021 for one notification)⁵.

4. Microbiological and Chemical Standards (Twenty-Fifth and Twenty-Sixth Schedules)

Twenty-Fifth Schedule (Packaged Drinking Water and Vended Water)

• Microbiological parameters for Escherichia coli, Enterococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and sulfite-reducing anaerobes have been updated⁶.
• Chemical limits for aluminium, arsenic, and chloroform have been modified⁷.

Twenty-Sixth Schedule (Natural Mineral Water)

• Aligned with Codex Standard for Natural Mineral Waters (CODEX STAN 108-1981)⁸:
  • Updated maximum permitted proportions for arsenic, cadmium, lead, barium, manganese, and fluoride⁸.
  • Replaced chromium (VI) with total chromium⁸.

Key Points:

• HS Codes: 2201.10.1000 (mineral water), 2201.90.9000 (other waters)^{6, 8}.
• Objective: Food safety^{6, 8, 7}.

5. Nutrition Claims (Fifth A Schedule Amendments)

Amendments to Tables II, IV, and V of the Fifth A Schedule introduce or modify conditions for nutrition claims, including:

• New nutrient: Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) added to Table II (conditions for nutrient content claims)⁹.
• Updated requirements: Minimum amount for arachidonic acid (ARA) in infant formula revised in Table IV⁹.
• Revised claims: Table V (conditions for claims related to added nutrients) has been substituted⁹.

Key Points:

• Objective: Consumer information and protection of human health⁹.
• Applicability: Infant formula and other foods making nutrition claims⁹.

6. Enforcement and Compliance

• Adoption Date: To be determined for most amendments^{1, 9, 6, 2, 8, 7, 4}.
• Entry into Force: 6 months from publication for milk-related amendments¹.
• Public Comments: 60 days from notification date (e.g., 21 May 2021 for some notifications)^{5, 7}.
• Authority: Food Safety and Quality Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia^{1, 9, 3, 6, 2, 8, 5, 7, 4}.

Summary Answer

Malaysia’s recent amendments to the Food Regulations 1985 strengthen oversight of milk, yogurt, cheese, and eggs through:

1. Stricter raw milk standards (no drug residues or added nutrients) and labeling restrictions (prohibiting "fresh" for recombined/reconstituted milk) under Regulations 82 and 117, effective 6 months from publication¹.
2. New pesticide MRLs for dairy-related commodities (e.g., eggs, vegetables) and other foods in the Sixteenth Schedule, covering pesticides like cymoxanil, florpyrauxifen-benzyl, and metaflumizone^{3, 2, 4}.
3. Updated hypersensitivity ingredient lists (Subregulation 11(5)) and microbiological/chemical standards for water (Twenty-Fifth and Twenty-Sixth Schedules), aligning with Codex standards^{6, 8, 5, 7}.
4. Revised nutrition claims for DHA and ARA in infant formula (Fifth A Schedule)⁹.

All amendments are enforced by the Ministry of Health Malaysia, with 60-day public comment periods for most changes^{1, 5, 7}. Businesses must comply within 6 months for milk-related updates¹. For further details, stakeholders may contact the Food Safety and Quality Division^{1, 9, 3, 6, 2, 8, 5, 7, 4}.

Sources

1. ↩ Amendments to regulations related to milk and milk products involving regulations 82 and 117(7), and insertion of a new subregulation 117(1B) to the Food Regulations 1985 [P.U.(A) 437/1985] _notification https://docs.wto.org/imrd/directdoc.asp?DDFDocuments/T/G/TBTN24/MYS120.DOCX
2. ↩ Amendment to the Sixteenth Schedule of the Food Regulations 1985 [P.U.(A) 437/1985] _notification https://docs.wto.org/imrd/directdoc.asp?DDFDocuments/T/G/SPS/NMYS51.DOCX
3. ↩ Amendment to the Sixteenth Schedule of the Food Regulations 1985 [P.U.(A) 437/85] _notification https://docs.wto.org/imrd/directdoc.asp?DDFDocuments/T/G/SPS/NMYS56.DOCX
4. ↩ Amendment to Sixteenth Schedule of the Food Regulations 1985 _notification https://docs.wto.org/imrd/directdoc.asp?DDFDocuments/T/G/SPS/NMYS47.DOCX
5. ↩ Amendment to subregulation 11(5) of Food Regulations 1985, to be aligned with Codex Standard _notification https://docs.wto.org/imrd/directdoc.asp?DDFDocuments/T/G/SPS/NMYS50.DOCX
6. ↩ Amendments to the Twenty Fifth Schedule and the Twenty Sixth Schedule of the Food Regulations 1985 [P.U.(A) 437/1985] _notification https://docs.wto.org/imrd/directdoc.asp?DDFDocuments/T/G/SPS/NMYS55.DOCX
7. ↩ Amendment to Twenty Fifth Schedule of the Food Regulations 1985 _notification https://docs.wto.org/imrd/directdoc.asp?DDFDocuments/T/G/SPS/NMYS49.DOCX
8. ↩ Amendments to the Twenty-Sixth Schedule of the Food Regulations 1985 [P.U. (A) 437/1985] _notification https://docs.wto.org/imrd/directdoc.asp?DDFDocuments/T/G/SPS/NMYS53.DOCX
9. ↩ Amendment to Table II, IV and V of the Fifth A Schedule, Food Regulations 1985 [P.U.(A) 437/1985]. _notification https://docs.wto.org/imrd/directdoc.asp?DDFDocuments/T/G/TBTN23/MYS119.DOCX