(updated 31/03) Mar 2023 Regulatory Alerts: Canada/China/Macao/Taiwan

Canada: Health Canada has updated the labelling requirements for foods that contain neotame, sucralose, aspartame, and acesulfame-potassium. These sweeteners are no longer required to be listed on the front of food packages, and the amount in milligrams per serving doesn’t need to be listed in the ingredients. However, food products containing aspartame must still have a warning on the label informing individuals with phenylketonuria that it contains phenylalanine. This warning statement must now be printed in bold and placed at the end of the ingredient list.

Mainland China: According to an announcement from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, a new type of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni plant has been granted protection as a new plant variety. PureCircle (Jiangxi) Co., Ltd is the holder of the rights for this new plant variety.

Macao: During a routine food inspection, the Municipal Affairs Bureau of Macao, China, discovered that a pre-packaged dried apricot product from Turkey contained sweeteners, Cyclohexylamino-sulfonic acid salt and saccharin, which are prohibited for use in that food category. The merchant involved has been instructed to cease selling and recall the problematic product. Meanwhile, another food safety inspection found excessive amounts of the sweetener cyclamate in a brand of lemon slices called “Yongji Lemon” from Thailand.

Taiwan: The Ministry of Health and Welfare has initiated a public consultation period for proposed amendments to the Standards for Specification, Scope, Application and Limitation of Food Additives. Among the proposed changes is the renaming of the sweetener currently referred to as “Steviol glycosides from Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni” to simply “Steviol glycosides“.

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