Malaysia Amends Food Regulations to Revise Alcoholic Beverage Standards and Definitions

Malaysia published the Food (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2025 [P.U. (A) 345] in the Federal Government Gazette, amending the Food Regulations 1985 under the Food Act 1983. The amendments will come into force on 1 April 2026 and introduce extensive revisions to the regulatory framework governing alcoholic beverages, including wines, spirit drinks, and traditional fermented products.

A key change is the replacement of the term “spirit” with “spirit drink” throughout the regulations, aligning terminology with international usage. The amendments also revise alcohol content thresholds for multiple product categories. For general spirit drinks, the minimum alcohol content is set at 32.5% v/v, unless otherwise specified. Vodka must contain not less than 37% v/v alcohol, while flavoured vodka must contain at least 30% v/v alcohol and be clearly labelled as “flavoured vodka.”

For wine products, the regulations refine definitions and labelling conditions. Wine must now be produced from fresh grapes or grape must, with grape must defined as containing not more than 1% alcohol. The maximum alcohol content for wine has been increased to 24% v/v. The use of the term “sparkling” is restricted to products where carbon dioxide is produced naturally through fermentation, and “champagne” may only be used for sparkling wine produced using the traditional bottle fermentation method. The term “icewine” is limited to wine produced exclusively from grapes naturally frozen on the vine.

Specific compositional limits are also introduced or revised for specialty wines. Fruit wine may contain volatile acidity calculated as acetic acid at not more than 1.2 g/L, excluding preservative acids. Honey wine or mead must include the word “honey” conjoined with “wine” on the label in lettering of not less than 10-point font, and sparkling claims are subject to natural fermentation requirements. Rice wine alcohol content is reduced, with a minimum threshold of 3% v/v, and labelling restrictions apply to sparkling claims.

Traditional and spirit categories are further clarified. Toddy must contain not less than 7% v/v alcohol. Samsu must contain not less than 35% v/v alcohol, while Shochu, Soju, and Sam Cheng are permitted at not less than 10% v/v alcohol. Tequila and Mezcal are newly defined categories, each required to contain 35–55% v/v alcohol, with mandatory labelling according to the class or category assigned in the country of origin.

The amendments also remove certain alcoholic beverages from microbiological and compositional schedules, reflecting a restructuring of standards across the Sixth, Tenth, and Eleventh Schedules.

Overall, these regulatory updates aim to modernize Malaysia’s alcoholic beverage standards, strengthen labelling clarity, align definitions with international practices, and ensure greater regulatory consistency across wine, spirit drinks, and traditional fermented products.