28/02/2024
Knowing the sugar:
New Malaysia Nutrition Facts Label Requirements (Effective 2022)
October 28, 2021
Malaysia Nutrition Facts Label Requirements
Did you know that the government has made amendments to the nutrition facts label requirements in the Food Regulations 1985?
The new Malaysia nutrition facts label requirements will be effective in July 2022. Therefore, food product manufacturers should be aware of these changes and implement them in their food products packaging by next year.
New Malaysia Nutrition Facts Label Requirements
For your information, the regulation affected by these changes is Regulation 18B of Malaysia Food Regulations 1985. So, we will break down the changes to you as simply as possible so that everyone can easily understand them.
Sodium Content
The new Malaysia nutrition facts label will make it mandatory to label sodium content on food packaging.
The reason is to encourage the public to reduce salt intake. Furthermore, this new strategy will also encourage the public to make a healthier choice by being more informed of the sodium content in their food.
The new regulation added is as below;
“(c) the amount of sodium expressed in milligrams per 100 g or per 100 ml or per package if the package contains only a single portion and per serving as stated on the label.”;
Sugar Content
Additionally, there has also been a minor change to the sugar content labelling requirement.
Before the new amendment, sugar content (monosaccharide and disaccharide) must be declared for ready-to-drink beverages either naturally occurring or added.
However, the new change makes it mandatory for total sugars to be labeled on every food product that requires for nutrition facts label. The new regulations:
(b) the amount of protein, available carbohydrate (carbohydrate excluding dietary fibre), total sugars and fat, expressed in g per 100 g or per 100 ml or per package if the package contains only a single portion and per serving as stated on the label; and”;
