Regulatory review: New VMS formats in Korea, probiotic regulations in APAC and more

Format innovation opportunity: South Korea to allow VMS to be made into jelly, film, and disintegrating tablets

South Korea is allowing vitamins, minerals, and supplements (VMS) to be made into more types of dosage forms, with jelly, film, and disintegrating tablets added into the list of permitted formats​ for VMS.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) announced that​ said such new products could hit the market as early as next year.

Currently, the permitted dosage formats for VMS are powder, granules, capsules, effervescent tablets, chewable tablets, pills, troche, syrup, and liquid solution.

Probiotic regulations in APAC: Everything you need to know on latest developments in SEA, China, Korea and Middle East ​

Regulators across Asia Pacific are paying more attention to the rapidly growing probiotic market and have introduced new policies to keep up with the category’s development, said regulatory specialists on the third day of our Probiota Asia digital summit.

Organised by NutraIngredients-Asia, ​the theme of the day was “Opportunity Asia and Middle East: Regulations and Market Access Decoded” – featuring insights in the probiotic regulatory development space across Southeast Asia, South Korea, China, and the Middle East.

With the rapid growth of the probiotic industry, regional regulators are now stepping up to regulate​ the category.

Taiwan regulator proposes new rules for nutrition claims, including vitamin requirements

The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration has proposed new changes​ to the “Regulations on Nutrition Claim for Pre-packaged Food Products”, including specifying the protein, B vitamins, folic acid, and biotin requirements for different groups of individuals.

In its announcement last month, the Taiwan FDA also proposed that the changes will be applicable to pre-packaged foods for infants, toddlers, and special medical purposes – food categories which now fall under the bigger umbrella of pre-packaged foods.   ​ 

Earlier in May, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration announced that pre-packaged foods for infants, toddlers, and special medical purposes will need to follow the nutrition labelling​ standards​ applicable to all pre-packaged foods.

China’s supplements customs registration: ‘Clearer info’ on international authorities facilitating registration  ​

There are new updates to China’s customs registration, which will affect all food and supplements exports​, with clearer information on the corresponding overseas authorities that are in charge of helping companies with their registration process.

For example, in the case of Australia, manufacturers producing therapeutic products, such as sports nutrition, functional foods, and dietary supplements, can seek endorsement from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to support their continued exports to China.

In April, China’s General Administration of Customs PRC (GACC) issued new regulations which require all manufacturers of foods exported into the country to be registered with the customs. 

Tocotrienol rules boost: Malaysia’s pending health claims will be beneficial in driving consumer awareness

Malaysia’s pending approval on palm tocotrienol’s antioxidant claims could help consumers gain a better understanding of the locally grown crop’s health benefits.

Malaysia is one of the world’s largest palm oil producer, alongside Indonesia. Although there has been scientific evidence showing tocotrienol-rich palm oil’s health benefits, the knowledge is largely confined within some groups of the healthcare professionals and consumers using the product.

However, an upcoming regulatory change​ which allows products containing tocotrienol rich fraction (TRF) to make certain health claims could change the situation.