AMCHAM Food & Agri Alert

VOL. 1 of July 5, 2023

While Thailand’s recent national election took place in May of this year, the establishment of the new Thai government has not yet been finalized. Although we are waiting for further clarity as to the new Thai government’s direction, businesses are anxious for clarity on directions and priorities ahead.

Recently, there have been new and interesting laws related to food. This legislation may have a wide effect on the food business.

1. Draft Act Regulating the Marketing of Food and Beverages that affect Children’s Health

On May 23, the Department of Health launched a public consultation on its plans to introduce a total advertisement ban for food and beverage products high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) or deemed to negatively affect the health and development of U18s. The consultation ended on June 30, 2023. An unofficial translation of the new Act is available here.

The draft Act incudes rules on the following:

Placement: Advertisements for restricted products will be forbidden in all media. The question-and-answer document indicates that this would include television, radio, online media and public transport.
Labeling: Front-of-pack (FOP) designs for restricted products are not to include any messages or depictions appealing to children (for example, cartoons, celebrities). FOP warning labels and accompanying messages will also be mandatory.
Prize Giveaways: The giving away (including via coupons, prizes, and more) of such restricted products free-of-charge is forbidden.
Schools: The distribution of restricted products in schools is prohibited.
Promotions: Distributors and manufacturers will be prohibited from making any price value displays (for example, discount labels, quantity value labels) on restricted products.
Sponsorship: Sponsorships at events and activities by manufacturers or distributors of restricted products will be forbidden from displaying their logos or messages.
Communications: The establishment of groups, clubs, or online communities to promote or recommend the consumption of restricted products will be prohibited. In addition, contacting or influencing children, directly or indirectly, is also prohibited.
Penalties: Failure to comply with these measures would be met with fines.

The draft Act will establish a “marketing control committee” under the direction of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH). Its board will gather senior officials from related government departments, including the Digital Economy Ministry and the Thai Food and Drug Administration (TFDA). The committee will be responsible for drafting any additional rules necessary for the implementation of the measures to be adopted as ministerial notifications. This includes a nutrient profile model (NPM) for the identification of restricted foods (NPM Thai). An unofficial translation of the NPM is available here.

The draft Act mandates that any NPM must control foods high in fat, sugar, and/or sodium, as well as any other foods consumed by children that would put them at risk of malnutrition, developmental problems or illness, including brain and psychomotor risks.

The NPM categorises foods and beverages into three tiers: those meeting standards (A/Green), those below standard (B/Yellow), and those severely below standard (C/Red). Food items with higher scores will be assigned better grades.

Foods will be grouped into seven different categories for evaluation purposes: main courses, instant food, snacks, baked goods, desserts and ice cream, beverages, and milk and dairy products.

The NPM would forbid the marketing of:

Candy
Sweetened condensed milk
Energy drinks
Foods with added artificial sweeteners, including chemically generated sweeteners, such as aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, neotame, alitame, and advantame. Low-calorie and no-calorie sweeteners derived from nature, including thaumatin, steviol glycosides, and Luo han guo extract, are also included.

2. Draft Notification of the MOPH Re: Food Supplements (No. 5)

At the beginning of June 2023, the TFDA launched a public consultation process regarding the updated maximum limits of vitamins and minerals for use in food supplements. The TFDA published the draft Notification of the Ministry of Public Health Re: Food Supplement (No.5) to be compliance with the updated Thai Recommend Daily Intake (Thai RDIs) of the Draft Notification of the MOPH Re: Nutritional Labelling, which passed the public hearing stage on November 30, 2022, and the ASEAN Criteria and Guidelines for Determining the Maximum Content of Vitamins and Minerals in Food Supplements. This is an appropriate time to change the maximum limits of vitamins and minerals for use in food supplements. The consultation runs until August 15, 2023.

You may find the detailed documents on the draft notification here. Comment can be made here. For more information, FDA provided contact person and details as follows: Ms. Sirirat Preecha Tel: 02 590 7185, food.publichearing@gmail.com, Standard Controlled Group, Food Division, Food and Drug Administration, 88/24 Tiwanon Road,Talat Khwan, Muang District, Nonthaburi Province, 11000.