Food Supplements in Asia: Key Regulatory Changes in 2025 and What to Expect in 2026

Regulatory frameworks for food supplements across Asia continue to evolve, with a clear trend toward stricter oversight, enhanced labelling requirements, and increased scrutiny of product classification and claims. Below is a summary of significant regulatory changes introduced in 2025 in India, China, Japan and South Korea, with an outlook on anticipated developments in 2026.

• In India, regulatory authorities are focusing on borderline products through an inter-ministerial initiative aimed at addressing misleading claims and improving enforcement. Recent and upcoming measures include amendments to food labelling regulations (effective July 2025), revised RDAs for certain nutrients, mandatory GMP compliance, and a prohibition on the use of “100%” claims on food packaging and advertising. In parallel, draft amendments to packaging regulations propose banning PFAS and BPA in food contact materials, with implementation expected in 2026.
• In China, comprehensive revisions to national food labelling and nutrition standards are replacing long-standing regulations. The new framework introduces mandatory allergen labelling, revised nutrition reference values, and detailed rules for the declaration of microbial strains depending on their function and presence in the final product. The use of “not added” or “not used” statements is prohibited. Digital labelling through QR codes is permitted but does not replace the requirement for full compliance of physical labels. Additional updates include the introduction of a new authorised health function related to joint and bone health and expanded filing options for health foods containing Coenzyme Q10 and melatonin.
• In Japan, regulatory updates include revisions to the list of permitted food additives, updates to nutrition labelling reference values aligned with the 2025 Dietary Intake Standards, and expansion of mandatory allergen labelling to include cashew nuts. Authorities are also reviewing the Food with Nutrient Function Claims (FNFC) system, which may result in changes to permitted nutrient levels, functional claim wording, and related precautionary statements.
• In South Korea, amendments to health functional food regulations introduce QR-code labelling requirements and propose changes to the presentation of functional claims, including the need to link claims directly to the functional ingredient and its quantified content. Regulatory authorities have also increased oversight of foods purchased through cross-border e-commerce channels. In addition, GMO labelling requirements have been expanded to include certain highly processed foods, and revisions to specifications and daily intake limits for selected functional ingredients are expected to take effect by the end of 2026.

Overall, regulatory authorities across Asia are strengthening requirements related to transparency, labelling accuracy, claim substantiation, and product classification. These changes reinforce the importance of early regulatory assessment and country-specific compliance strategies when developing or expanding food supplement products in the region.

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