1. E-Siong Tee, PhD Nutrition Adviser,Food Safety & Quality
Division, Ministry of Health ,Malaysia [email protected]
1
2. Outline of presentation . Nutrition information on food
labels (nutrition labeling and claims) assist consumers in making
food choices Regulatory control is important to ensure they are
factual and appropriate Codex provides guidelines to countries
National authorities have their own regulations Overview of current
status and recent regulatory developments in nutrition labeling,
nutrition and health claims 7 SEAsian countries + China and Japan
Challenges in implementing regulations Incl developing capabilities
in food analysis
3. From a public health point of view, food labelscan be a
useful source of nutrition information assist consumer in choice of
food encourage use of nutrition principles when making food
choices, preparing mealsTwo main types of nutrition information on
labels nutrition labelling nutrition and health claimsSuch
information also beneficial to foodindustry Enables manufacturers
to highlight nutritional quality of their products Highlight the
functions or health benefits of certain nutrients or functional
components in food
4. Authorities need to control nutrition labelingand health
claims, to ensure that suchinformation are factual and
appropriatelypresentedCodex Alimentarius has published guidelinesto
governments in establishing nationalregulations through Joint
FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, Programme, aimed at protecting
health of the consumers and ensuring fair trade practices in the
food tradeTwo Codex standards are of relevance, ie Guidelines on
Nutrition Labelling Guidelines on Nutrition and Health Claims
7. Nutrition labelling ... Nutrition labelling is a description
intended to inform the consumer of nutritional properties of a food
Often taken to mean Nutrient Declaration which is a standardised
statement or listing of the nutrient content of a food (energy,
protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins, minerals, etc) Often known as
Nutrition Information Panel (NIP)
8. Nutrient declaration should be mandatory forfoods for which
nutrition claims are made;voluntary for all other foodsWhere
nutrient declaration is applied, thedeclaration of the following
should bemandatory Energy, protein, available carbohydrate (i.e.,
excl dietary fibre), fat; these 4 nutrients are being expanded to
include saturated fat, sodium & total sugars any other nutrient
for which a nutrition or health claim is madeEnergy and nutrients
should be declared asper 100 g or per 100 ml or per serving
10. Nutrition claim means any representationwhich states,
suggests or implies that a foodhas particular nutritional
propertiesNutrition claims Nutrient content claim Comparative
claimHealth claims means any representation thatstates, suggests or
implies that a relationshipexists between a food or a constituent
of thatfood and health, includes nutrient function claim other
function claim and reduction of disease risk claims
11. Nutrient function claims . describes the physiological role
of the nutrient in growth, development and normal functions of the
body, eg Calcium aids in the development of strong bones and teeth
Iron is a factor in red blood cell formationOther function claims
.. describes specific beneficial effects of the consumption of a
food constituent in improving or modifying a physiological
function, eg Plant sterols helps in lowering blood cholesterol
12. Reduction of disease risk claim .. relates the consumption
of a food or food constituent to the reduced risk of developing a
disease or health related condition, eg Soy protein reduces risk to
heart diseaseFunction claim vs disease risk reduction . Function
claim Disease risk reduction claimBeta glucan from oat helps lower
Beta glucan from oat helps reduceblood cholesterol risk to heart
diseaseCalcium is important for bone and Calcium reduces risk to
osteoporosisteeth formation
13. Nutrition labelling andhealth claims in Asia .
14. Food regulatory agencies welcome efforts offood companies
to disseminate suchnutrition information to consumers However, they
have to ensure that such information is factual and appropriately
presented Hence increased interest and efforts of authorities to
improve regulatory control of nutrition labeling and health
claimsMore countries are looking towards CodexAlimentarius for
guidance in establishingnational regulations
15. Nutrition labelling in Asia . .. Brunei, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam; China,
Japan
16. There is no harmonised regulations onnutrition labelling in
the Asian countriesMalaysia enforced mandatory nutritionlabeling
for wide variety of foods in 2005 more than 50 categories of
commonly consumed foods, contributing significantly to dietary
intakeIn other Southeast Asian countries (Brunei,Indonesia,
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand,Vietnam), Japan and China,
mandatorynutrition labeling is only applicable to: foods for
special dietary uses (eg infant cereal- formula, cereal-based foods
for children) foods making nutrition claims fortified or enriched
foods
17. many products in these countries do havevoluntary nutrition
labeling with formatguidelines provided by national authorityformat
and requirements for NIP dif fer widely forcountries in the region
Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore & Vietnam require 4
core nutrients (energy, carbohydrate, protein and fat) Indonesia,
China and Japan require 5 core nutrients (the 4 above plus sodium)
Thailand format more similar to the USFDA format (14
nutrients)Declaration per 100 g /ml and/or per servingdiffers for
the various countriesOnly Malaysia uses Codex NRV on NIP;
othercountries use national RDAs
18. Nutrition & Healthclaims in Asia . .. Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam;
China, Japan
19. Status of nutrition claims Country Nutrition claimBrunei
Yes, but only for energy and several nutrients, excluding vitamins
& minerals; criteria not stipulatedIndonesia Yes, nutrient
content claim, comparative claim; criteria for claim based on NRV
IndonesiaMalaysia Yes, nutrient content claim, comparative claim;
format and criteria im, generally similar to CodexPhilippines Yes,
nutrient content claim, comparative claim; format generally similar
to Codex; criteria based on RENI PhilippinesSingapore Yes, nutrient
content claim, comparative claim; criteria for claim based on RDA,
not NRVThailand Yes, nutrient content claim, comparative claim;
format generally similar to Codex; criteria based on Thai RDI
rather than NRVChina Yes, nutrient content claim, comparative
claim; format and criteria im, generally similar to CodexJapan Yes,
nutrient content claim only; format generally similar to Codex; but
different criteria used
20. Status of nutrient function claims Country Nutrient
function claimBrunei Not permittedIndonesia Yes, in new regulations
to be enforced; 4 macro macro-nutrients (protein, fat, linoleic
acid, carbohydrates), 8 vitamins, 3 mineralsMalaysia Yes, 23 claims
for protein 9 vitamins, 5 minerals rotein,Philippines Yes,
according to Codex; no positive listSingapore Yes, 26 claims for 3
mac nutrients (protein, lactose, dietary acro fibre), 7 vitamins, 5
mineralsThailand Yes, 29 claims for protein dietary fibre, 13
vitamins, 14 protein, mineralsChina Yes, 60 claims for 8
macronutrients (energy, fat, protein, saturated fat, cholesterol,
carbohydrate, sugar, dietary fibre), 6 minerals, 11 vitaminsJapan
Yes, 17 claims for 12 vitamins, 5 minerals
21. Status of other function claims Country Other function
claimBrunei Not permittedIndonesia Yes, in functional foods
regulation 2005 (e.g. prebiotic prebiotic, probiotic, plant sterol/
sterol/stanols)Malaysia 29 claims for variety of other food
components ( (eg dietary fibres, sterol, soy protein,
DHA/AA)Philippines Yes, according to Codex; no positive
listSingapore 10 claims for collagen, probiotics prebiotics, plant
probiotics, sterolsThailand Not permittedVietnam Yes; no positive
listChina Not permittedJapan FOSHU (over 800 products approved to
date)
22. risk-Status of disease risk-reduction claims Country
Disease risk risk-reduction claimBrunei Not permittedIndonesia Yes,
in functional foods regulation 2005Malaysia Not
permittedPhilippines Yes, according to Codex; no positive
listSingapore 5 nutrient/food specific claims, ie Ca/Vit; Na; sat
fat/trans fats; fibre; whole grains, fruits & veggiesThailand
Not permittedVietnam Yes; no positive listChina Not permittedJapan
Only calcium and osteoporosis and folate and neural tube
defect
23. Summary status of nutrition & health claims There are
no harmonised nutrition and health claims regulations in Asian
countries There are considerable differences in the permitted
nutrition and health claims Nutrition claims are permitted in all
the countries reviewed; however criteria for claims differ among
countries, some similar to Codex All countries allow nutrient
function claims; types of claims differ; most countries have a
positive list of permitted claims
24. Summary status of nutrition & health claims differences
in permitted claims Other function claims are permitted in all
countries, except in Brunei, China and Thailand related to several
bioactive components non- including several dietary fibres and non-
digestible oligosaccharides, and plant sterols Disease risk
reduction claims are considered higher level claims and are
permitted only in a few countries, namely Indonesia, Philippines,
Singapore and Japan and only for a few nutrients or bioactive
compounds or food
25. Nutrition and health Claims (2) Regulatory system related
to claims differ considerably positive- Most countries adopt a
positive-list approach Claims not on the listed are not permitted,
case- but industry may apply on a case-by case basis Approval based
on scientific substantiation of proposed claim There will certainly
be increased interest and activities in the region amongst
consumers, food industry and regulatory agencies
26. Challenges inimplementing nutritionlabelling and claims
.
27. Develop capabilities in food analysis . For truthful
nutrition labeling, manufacturers must ensure accurate data on the
composition of the nutrients contained in the food Similarly, for
nutrition and health claims, accurate data on the amounts of the
nutrients or food components are needed For scientific
substantiation of the claimed health effects, accurate quantitation
of the amounts of these nutrients or components is essential well-
For regulatory agencies, well-equipped well- laboratories and
well-trained personnel are required for surveillance and
enforcement purposes
28. Challenges faced by authorities . Concerned with effective
communication of labelling and claims information to consumers
Difficulty faced by consumers in understanding nutrient declaration
format misunderstanding of claims, potential misuse, simplistic
interpretation of claims Lack of data on how consumers understand
and utilise such information need to educate consumers on
appropriate use of labelling and claims information on labels
Inadequate resources for enforcement of regulations
29. Challenges faced by food industry . Lack of expertise and
expenses to obtain nutrient content for declaration, particularly
for smaller industries Unclear regulations on the permitted health
claims Lack of clear regulatory framework for application of
amendments to regulations, including nutrition claims Lack of
expertise to submit applications for nutrition claims Long lag time
between application for amendment to final approval