Newsletter
ENFORCEMENT BEGINS OF HEALTH FOOD PRODUCTS MANAGEMENT LAW
Our March 1999 issue reported on the promulgation of the Health Food Products Management Law which took effect on 3 August 1999. The law is expected to have substantial and direct impacts on the annual NT$20 billion market for health food products in Taiwan covering a wide range of products. As a result, the Department of Health (DOH) instructed local health bureaus island-wide prior to the enforcement of the law to investigate health food products in tablet and capsule forms which are easy for the public to mistakenly believe to have medical effects. The DOH announced that health food companies claiming that their products possess any of five specified health-related effects must provide research and testing to support their claims. These health-related effects are: treatment of bone tissue disease, teeth maintenance, improvement of body immunity, regulation of stomach and bowels, and regulation of fat in the bloodstream. As for products claiming other health-related effects, the DOH requires firms to submit applications and the DOH will perform evaluation.
In order to enforce the law, the Taipei Bureau of Health on 3 August 1999 began inspections of more than 1,500 targets. They included television shopping channels, health food manufacturers, direct sales companies, health food chain stores, health food specialty stores, pharmacies, weight reduction centers and beauty parlors. As of 9 August 1999, the inspections had uncovered 20 violations of the law which were referred to the Taipei District Court Prosecutor's Office for investigation.