4. Labeling Requirements

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4. Labeling Requirements

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Beers, RTDs, and Whisky
Taiwan

This section provides information on labeling requirements and the label approval process.

4.1 Mandatory Labeling Parameters

General Food

General food should follow the labeling requirements in Article 22 of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation [1].

The following are the general labeling requirements:

Product name
Name of the ingredients; those that contain two or more ingredients shall indicate the respective ingredients in descending order of proportion
Net weight, volume, or quantity
Name of food additives; in the case of a mixture of two or more food additives which are named according to their function shall indicate the name of each additive separately
Name, telephone number, and address of the manufacturer or that of the responsible domestic company. The tracing sources of the domestic certified agricultural products; and the production systems prescribed by the central agricultural competent authority in a public announcement
Country of origin
Expiry date
Nutrition label
Genetically modified food raw materials (if applicable)

In addition, companies should also refer to specific labeling requirements, for example, the criteria for determination of Country of Origin, in the Enforcement Rules of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation [2].

Note: Regulations on Nutrition Labeling for Prepackaged Food Products exist [3].

Category

Alcoholic drinks

The labeling requirement for General Food does not apply to Alcoholic drinks. Specific labeling requirements for alcoholic drinks apply and can be found in Article 32 of the Tobacco and Alcohol Administration Act [4]. The labeling information required includes:

Brand name and type of product
The alcohol content
The country of origin of the imported product
The name and address of the producer; for an import, the name and address of the importer shall also be indicated; for alcohol products produced by a contractor, the name and address of the contracting party shall also be indicated; the name and address of the repackaging producer shall also be indicated.
The batch number
The volume
For alcohol products having an alcohol content of 7% or less, or which are packed in plastic or paper containers, the expiration date or bottling date shall be indicated. If the date of bottling is indicated, the date of expiration shall also be indicated.
“Excessive drinking endangers health” or other health warnings
Other labeling requirements by the central competent authority

If the space on the surface of an alcohol container is too small to accommodate the indications required by Paragraph 1 above, a labeling tag may be used for the purpose of labeling.

In addition to the above requirements, the Taiwan Ministry of Finance has issued Regulations Governing the Labeling of Alcohol Products [5], which provide specific labeling requirements:

Warning statements (Article 11)
Definition of vintage years for wine
Geographical indication (Article 13) and its substantiation requirements

Warning statements (Article 11)

Warning labels on alcohol products shall be at least 2.65 mm in font size and be placed in a conspicuous place on the container’s largest external surface. Such statements shall be on a contrasting background for ready legibility.

The warning label referred to in the preceding paragraph, except on ethyl alcohol, shall be labeled as “Excessive consumption of alcohol is harmful to health” or one of the following:

To be safe, don’t drink and drive.
Excessive drinking is harmful to you and others.
Drinking is prohibited if under 18 years old.
Large quantity intake of alcohol products in a short period of time is lethal.
Other warnings as approved by the central competent authority.

Ethyl alcohol shall be labeled with one of the following:

Highly flammable. Keep away from sources of fire, sparks, and flames.
Irritating to eyes, skin, and respiratory system and should be kept in a cool and ventilated location with a cap on tightly.

Geographical indication (Article 13)

“Geographical Indication” means a geographical origin, such as a nation or region, that is sufficient to represent the quality, reputation, or other characteristics of the goods, and such an origin shall be the place of production of the goods. Geographical indication shall comply with the regulations prescribed by each region or country.

The labeling of alcohol products shall not be used in translation or accompanied by expressions such as “kind”, “type”, “style”, “imitation” or the like, to convey erroneous impressions or inferences as to the origin of the alcohol product, even where the true origin of the product is indicated.

Where an alcohol product is labeled with geographical indication, a certificate of the geographical indication issued by the government or chamber of commerce authorized by the government of the place (country) of production shall be submitted to the central competent authority (Ministry of Finance) for examination before the alcohol product is declared to the Customs or released from the factory.

Product

Beer, RTDs, and Whisky

These products should comply with the requirements of the category of "alcoholic drinks" above.

4.2 Languages

General Food

The label must be in the Chinese language [1].

Category

Alcoholic drinks

The label must be in the Chinese language; however, the following are exempted from this requirement [4,5]:

Brand names of imported alcohol products and the names & addresses of the foreign manufacturers.
Names & addresses of foreign businesses commissioned to manufacture alcohol products.
Geographical indication of imported alcohol products.

Beer, RTDs, and Whisky

Same as "Category" (alcoholic drinks) above.

4.3 Mandatory Information on Stickers

General Food

According to the Q&A on Food Labeling [6], stickers are allowed as long they can't be easily torn off or fall off.

It is mandatory for product labels to be in the Chinese language. However, it is also acceptable for an additional language such as English to be present.

Category

Alcoholic drinks

This is not specified in the regulation. In principle, the use of stickers is acceptable as long it is “firmly affixed to the containers and not easily destroyed or damaged” as described in Article 3 of the Regulations Governing the Labeling of Alcohol Products [5].

Product

Beer, RTDs, and Whisky

Same as "Category" (alcoholic drinks) above.

4.4 Product Legal Name

Article 5 of the Regulations Governing the Labeling of Alcohol Products [5] states that alcohol products shall be categorized and labeled in accordance with Article 3 of the Enforcement Rules of the Tobacco and Alcohol Administration Act [2]. However, where the products fall under the subcategories, the subcategories may be labeled.

Product

Beer

Refer to the definition of beer in Section 2.2 of this guidebook.

Ready-to-drink beverages (mainly Chuhai)

Not defined.

Whisky

Refer to the definition of whisky in Section 2.2 of this guidebook.

4.5 Product-specific Labelling Statements

Category

Alcoholic drinks

See Section 4.1 above.

Product

Beer

Not specified.

Ready-to-drink beverages (mainly Chuhai)

Not specified.

Whisky

Not specified.

4.6 Authority Approval

General Food

There are no approval requirements for General Food labels.

Category

Alcoholic drinks

According to Regulations Governing the Labeling of Alcohol Products [5], product labels do not require authority approval. However, authority approval of the substantiation will be required if the product is labeled with: