Thai FDA Issues New Guidance on Permitted Forms of Vitamins and Minerals in Food and Dietary Supplements

"The Thai Food and Drug Administration (Thai FDA) has issued a new announcement titled “Guidance on the Use of Vitamin and Mineral Forms as Essential Components in Food Products”, dated 17 November 2025 (B.E. 2568).
The guidance aims to facilitate the registration and approval process by compiling and updating the permitted chemical forms of vitamins and minerals that can be used in food and dietary supplement products in Thailand.

Key Provisions
1. Dietary Supplements

For dietary supplements applying for an FDA product registration number, applicants may directly use the approved forms listed in Annex 1 without needing to submit:

Safety verification, or

Pre-market safety assessment.

2. Other Food Products (Without Specific Nutrient Rules)

For general foods that do not have special statutory requirements for vitamin/mineral use, manufacturers may follow the list in Annex 2 for nutrient addition (nutrification).
No additional safety re-evaluation is needed.

3. Products With Existing Specific Regulations

Certain food categories must continue to comply with their own nutrient rules:

Infant formula and follow-up formula

Infant foods and follow-up foods

Infant and young child complementary foods

Medical foods for infants and young children

4. Use of Non-Listed Vitamin/Mineral Forms

If the ingredient form is not included in Annex 1 or 2, companies must do one of the following:

Submit safety verification data (for new vitamin/mineral types), or

Submit a safety assessment (for new chemical forms of existing vitamins/minerals).

5. Reference to EFSA

The Thai FDA allows applicants to use updated evaluations from EFSA under:

Directive 2002/46/EC

Regulation (EC) 1925/2006

Regulation (EC) 1170/2009
as supporting documents during product registration.

Annexes Included in the Announcement

Annex 1: Permitted forms of vitamins and minerals for dietary supplements (extensive list covering Vitamin A, D, E, B-complex, C, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, selenium, chromium, etc.).

Annex 2: Permitted forms of vitamins and minerals for other food products.

The FDA advises manufacturers and applicants with questions to contact the relevant Food Product Licensing Unit through the contact details listed on the Thai FDA Food Division website.

The announcement aims to harmonise Thailand’s regulations with international scientific assessments and reduce regulatory burden while ensuring consumer safety."