Health claims of foods in Taiwan [compared with USA and Japan]
1998
Chen, S.K. (Bureau of Food Sanitation, Taipei (Taiwan). Dept. of Health)
As one of the newly industrialized countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan (the Republic of China) has experienced a vigorous economic growth. People of Taiwan are now concerned with their health more than ever before. The Law Governing Food Sanitation enacted by the Department of Health (DOH) is to protect the health of consumers. Articles 19 and 20 regulate food labelling and advertising, respectively, from being misleading. To enforce those Articles properly, in 1992 the DOH promulgated a regulation on the use of terms and phrases to guide the food industry in complying with the Law. This regulation basically followed the concept of drug claims, but some flexibility was also provided according to the traditional eating habits and general perception of claims by consumers. However, due to the food industry's talented promotion as well as consumers' unsatisfied expectations, the current regulation can not fulfil the desire of the market, and the issue of health claims is driven almost beyond the DOH's control. In the proposed draft amendment of Law Governing Food Sanitation in early 1997, the DOH proposed a provision to allow justified health claims on food which would exempt them from being regulated as drug claims. The DOH also invited academic societies to review the appropriateness of enforcing health claim regulations and organized a special committee to assist in progressing this issue. With all this effort it became increasingly clear that the solution to the issue of health claim was not straightforward. The definition of health claim, the coverage of food categories, the traditional Chinese concept on diet, nutrition and health, and the standard of evidence were all contentious issues. It is hoped that through general participation by industry, academia, consumers, as well as government agencies, a basic consensus can be built up as a starting point to deal with the complicated issue and an acceptable solution can be reached in the near future.
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