Malaysia Notifies WTO of Proposed Amendments to Food Regulations 1985 on Non-Retail Container Labelling

"Malaysia has notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of proposed amendments to its Food Regulations 1985 [P.U.(A) 437/1985], introducing new definitions and labelling requirements for non-retail food containers. The notification was submitted under Article 2.9.2 of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and circulated in December 2025 as document G/TBT/N/MYS/130.

Regulatory Authority Agency: Food Safety & Quality Programme (FSQP)
Ministry: Ministry of Health Malaysia
Scope: All food products (ICS: 67)

Key Proposed Amendments
The draft amendments cover Regulations 2, 16A, and 17 of the Food Regulations 1985 and include the following changes:

1. New Definition of “Non-Retail Container”
Regulation 2 will introduce a new interpretation of “non-retail container”, defined as:
Any packaging or container not intended for direct sale to consumers
Food packed for further preparation activities before being offered to consumers

2. New Labelling Requirements for Non-Retail Containers
A new Regulation 16A will be inserted to prescribe specific labelling particulars for food packed in non-retail containers.
This aims to ensure adequate food information is available throughout the supply chain, even where products are not sold directly to consumers.

3. Amendments to Existing Labelling Exemptions

Regulation 17 will be revised to adjust exemptions from existing labelling provisions:
Subregulation 17(2): Expansion of references to include additional clauses
Subregulation 17(5): Explicit inclusion of bulk containers and non-retail containers within the scope of exemptions."