Policy - Guide to Nutrition Labelling and Claims

Date:
2010
Published by:
Ministry of Health
Published year:
2010
Type of policy:
Government guidance

Tabs

Legislation Details

FOODS REQUIRING MANDATORY NUTRITION LABELLING

The following foods are required to have mandatory nutrition labelling:

1) Foods as listed in Table 1 below. These foods have been selected because they are frequently consumed and in significant amounts, and are important to the community.

2) Foods that have been fortified, enriched, vitaminised, supplemented or strengthened with specific vitamins or minerals (as permitted under Regulations 26 (7)).

3) Foods that make nutrition claims.

4) Special purpose foods: infant formula, follow-up formula, canned food for infants and young children and cereal-based food for infants and young children.

However, if there is a specific labelling requirement for these foods, they must comply with the individual standard.

TABLE 1: CATEGORIES OF FOODS THAT REQUIRE MANDATORY NUTRITION LABELLING

REG. NO

FOOD CATEGORY

TYPES OF FOOD (as extracted from Food Regulations 1985)

64 - 75

Prepared cereal food and bread

Prepared cereal food (including breakfast cereals), bread (white bread, fruit bread, milk bread, meal bread, rye bread, wheat-germ bread, wholemeal bread, enriched bread)

84 - 87, 89 - 99 & 113

Milk product

Skimmed milk or skim milk or non-fat milk or separated milk, pasteurized milk, sterilized milk, ultra high temperature milk or U.H.T. milk, flavoured milk, full cream milk powder or dried full cream milk, skimmed milk powder or skim milk powder or dried non-fat milk solids or separated milk powder, malted milk powder, recombined milk, reconstituted milk, evaporated milk or unsweetened condensed milk, condensed milk sweetened condensed milk, lactose hydrolysed milk, filled milk, filled milk powder, evaporated filled milk/unsweetened condensed filled milk, condensed filled milk/sweetened condensed filled milk, cultured milk/fermented milk

135

Flour confection

Any pastry, cake, biscuit/other product prepared from a mixture of flour/meal and other food

149, 151, 161 & 220

Canned meat, fish and vegetable

Canned meat, canned meat with other food, canned fish, canned vegetable

233 - 242

Canned fruit and various fruit juices

Canned fruit, canned fruit cocktail, fruit juice (apple juice, grapefruit juice, lemon juice, lime juice, orange juice, passion fruit juice pineapple juice)

344 - 345

Salad dressing and mayonnaise

Salad dressing (including tartar sauce), mayonnaise

348 - 358

Soft drink

Syrup, fruit syrup/fruit cordial/fruit squash, flavoured syrup/flavoured cordial, fruit juice drink, fruit drink, flavoured drink, soft drink base/soft drink premix, botanical beverage mix, soya bean milk, soya bean drink

GUIDELINES FOR LABELLING OF MANDATORY NUTRIENTS

The nutrients that must be declared on a nutrition label are energy, protein, carbohydrate and fat. In addition, total sugars must also be declared for ready-to-drink beverages. For labelling purposes, total sugars here are referred to all monosaccharide and disaccharide contained in a food either naturally occurring or added. In these regulations, ready-to-drink beverages include ready-to-drink soft drink, fruit and vegetable juices, ready-to-drink malted milk and flavoured milk. They do not include alcoholic beverages.

Information on energy value is to be expressed as kcal (kilocalories) per 100 g or per 100 ml of the food or per package if the package contains only a single portion. In addition, the energy value should also be given for each serving of the food as quantified on the label. Besides kcal, energy value may also be expressed as kilojoule (kJ).

The amount of protein, carbohydrate and fat should be expressed as g per 100 g or per 100 ml of the food or per package if the package contains only a single portion. In addition, the amount of these nutrients in the food should also be given for each serving of the food as quantified on the label.

NUTRIENT CONTENT CLAIMS AND REQUIRED CONDITIONS

Food manufacturers should understand what types of nutrient content claims are permitted, and the conditions for making these claims.

NUTRIENT CONTENT CLAIMS AND REQUIRED CONDITIONS

NUTRIENT COMPARATIVE CLAIMS AND REQUIRED CONDITIONS

A nutrient comparative claim is a claim that compares the nutrient levels and/or energy value of two or more foods.

Reference: 

WHO 2nd Global Nutrition Policy Review 2016-2017

Revision log

DateUserLogState
Thu, 11/30/2023 - 15:28engesveenkEdited by engesveenk.published
Tue, 08/02/2022 - 18:58engesveenkEdited by engesveenk.published
Tue, 08/02/2022 - 18:28engesveenkEdited by engesveenk.published
Tue, 08/02/2022 - 18:26engesveenkEdited by engesveenk.published
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Thu, 05/24/2018 - 19:22engesveenkpublishedpublished
Mon, 03/12/2018 - 18:53zillmerkEdited by engesveenk.draft
Wed, 04/02/2014 - 16:05engesveenkEdited by engesveenk.published
Mon, 03/31/2014 - 17:34johnsonjEdited by johnsonj..needs_review
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Mon, 03/03/2014 - 13:51johnsonjCreated by johnsonj.draft