Taipei, Chinese Imposes Labeling Rules on Milk Powder, Infant Formula, Dietary Supplement

Taipei, Chinese has enacted mandatory labeling requirements for Milk powder, Infant formula, Dietary supplement products to ensure consumer safety and transparency.

TAIPEI, CHINESE – FOOD LABELING

New Labeling Rules for Milk, Formula, and Supplements

Importers must update labels to meet new consumer safety standards.

6 HS codes covered

3 Jun 2022 Initial rules issued

10 Nov 2022 Final distribution

What changed

Mandatory labeling requirements for milk powder, infant formula, and dietary supplements.

Clear ingredient lists and nutritional content must be displayed on all products.

Health claims must comply with national labeling standards.

Who it affects

Importers of milk powder, infant formula, and dietary supplements must ensure products meet new labeling standards.

Manufacturers shipping under HS codes 040229, 040221, 040210, 040291, 190110, and 210690 must update product labels.

Key dates

3 Jun 2022 — initial version of labeling rules issued.

10 Nov 2022 — final distribution of revised rules.

Taipei, Chinese — milk powder, infant formula, and dietary supplement labeling requirements

Mandatory Labeling Requirements for Milk Powder, Infant Formula, and Dietary Supplements in Taipei, Chinese

The user’s question pertains to mandatory labeling requirements for milk powder, infant formula, and dietary supplement products in Taipei, Chinese. However, the provided Regulation Sources exclusively address health food labeling under the Regulations Governing the Labeling of Health Food and its Revised Draft, which are issued pursuant to the Health Food Control Act. These regulations do not explicitly cover milk powder or infant formula—they apply only to health food, a specific category of dietary supplements recognized under Taipei’s regulatory framework.

Below is a structured compliance analysis based on the applicable regulations for health food labeling, with clear distinctions where the user’s product categories diverge.

1. Scope of Applicable Regulations

The Regulations Governing the Labeling of Health Food¹ and its Revised Draft² govern health food products only. These are defined under Article 3 of the Health Food Control Act as:

Products with specific health care effects supported by academic theory or experimental evidence (e.g., animal or human studies)^{1, 2}.
Products approved by the competent authority (Taipei Department of Health) for health claims¹.

Key Limitation:

Milk powder and infant formula are not classified as "health food" under these regulations. They are regulated under separate statutes (e.g., Food Safety Act or Infant Formula and Follow-up Formula Control Regulations), which are not provided in the sources. Thus, no compliance guidance can be offered for these products based on the given sources.
Dietary supplements may fall under the health food category only if they meet the Health Food Control Act’s definition (e.g., approved health claims, specific ingredients). Otherwise, they are subject to general food labeling rules.

2. Mandatory Labeling Requirements for Health Food

For health food products, the following labeling requirements apply:

A. Core Labeling Obligations

Requirement	Details	Citation
Ingredients with Health Care Effects	Must label active ingredients and their content (e.g., "Contains 500mg of Omega-3"). If the ingredient lacks approval, label quality control criteria instead.	^{1, 2}
Approved Health Claims	Must state approved health care claims with mandatory disclaimers based on the evidence level:	^{1, 2}
	– Academic theory only: "The health care effects of this product are known from academic theory but not approved by product experiments." (placed after the claim).	^{1, 2}
	– Animal model testing: "Based on testing results from animal models, this product can help to¹." (placed before the claim).	^{1, 2}
Precautions and Warnings	Must include product-specific warnings in distinct color (contrasting with background). Examples:	^{1, 2}
	– Capsule/tablet form:
	1. "This product is not a drug; for health care only. Patients still need medical treatment."	^{1, 2}
	2. "Please eat according to the recommended intake; excessive intake does not benefit health."	^{1, 2}
	– Non-capsule/tablet form: "This product is for health care only, without therapeutic efficacy."	^{1, 2}
	– Refined sugar >17g/day: "The additional refined sugar will reach grams when eating the product in accordance with the recommended daily intake of grams/mL. Be careful of caloric intake."	^{1, 2}
	– Fish oil: "Infants, pregnant women, patients with diabetes mellitus, or people with abnormal blood coagulation taking anticoagulants are suggested to ask a doctor’s recommendations before eating."	^{1, 2}
	– Red yeast rice: "Eating this product combined with statin- and fibrate-derived hypolipidemic agents or grapefruit may result in liver and kidney injury or rhabdomyolysis."	^{1, 2}

B. Additional Compliance Notes

Transition Period:
- Products manufactured or imported before the promulgation date of the regulations may be sold until their expiry date^{1, 2}.
Visual Requirements:
- Precautions/warnings must be displayed in a distinct color from the background^{1, 2}.
Foreign Products:
- Imported health food must comply with the same labeling rules as domestic products^{1, 2}.

3. Products Outside the Scope of Health Food Regulations

For milk powder, infant formula, and non-health food dietary supplements, the following cannot be determined from the provided sources:

Labeling requirements (e.g., nutritional information, allergen declarations, age-specific warnings).
Registration/approval processes.
Specific ingredient restrictions (e.g., additives, fortification limits).

Recommendation:

Consult the Food Safety Act or Infant Formula and Follow-up Formula Control Regulations for milk powder/infant formula.
For dietary supplements not classified as health food, refer to general food labeling rules under the Food Safety Act.

Summary Answer

The Regulations Governing the Labeling of Health Food¹ and its Revised Draft² impose mandatory labeling requirements for health food products in Taipei, Chinese, including:

Disclosure of active ingredients and their content^{1, 2}.
Approved health claims with evidence-based disclaimers (e.g., academic theory vs. animal testing)^{1, 2}.
Product-specific warnings (e.g., for capsules, refined sugar, fish oil, red yeast rice) in distinct colors^{1, 2}.
Transition rules for pre-promulgation products^{1, 2}.

Critical Limitation: These regulations do not apply to milk powder or infant formula, which are governed by separate statutes not provided in the sources. For dietary supplements, compliance depends on whether the product qualifies as "health food" under the Health Food Control Act. If not, general food labeling rules apply. For full compliance, consult the Food Safety Act or Infant Formula Control Regulations.

Sources

↩ Regulations Governing the Labeling of Health Food https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2022/TBT/TPKM/final_measure/22_7721_00_e.pdf
↩ Regulations Governing the Labeling of Heath Food (Revised Draft) https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2022/TBT/TPKM/22_3916_01_x.pdf