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General Food Labelling Requirements

 

Pre-packed foods sold and distributed in Brunei, both local and imported, are required to comply with the general labelling requirements as stated in Regulation 9, Public Health ((Food) Regulations, (R1 Chapter 182).

 

Information on the food packaging has to be labelled in a prominent and conspicuous position on the package.

 

Labels must be in either Malay or English Language and any foreign languages must be translated to either of the two languages.

 

The labelling requirement shall include:

 

  1. Name of food;
    • Has to clearly and concisely describe the nature of the food item.

  1. List of ingredients and its sources (including additives);
    • If the product contains more than one ingredient, the packaging should contain a label that lists the ingredients in descending order (i.e. for the most to the least amount present).
    • At any time, the food officer may request for food product specification or a declaration letter from the manufacturer to verify any queries.
    • If the product contains an additive or fats/oils that are of animal origin (e.g. gelatin, Lard etc.), a declaration letter has to be attached from the manufacturer to verify the type of animal and this information should also be labelled on the packaging.
    • If the product contains alcohol, an Analysis from an accredited laboratory should be attached to verify the alcohol content. The product should also be labelled to inform on its presence.

​For Products containing Vegetable Fats / Oils / Shortening, a declaration letter has to be attached from the manufacturer to verify the type of animal and this information should also be labelleled on the packaging.​

If the product contains Artificial Sweetening Substances Aspartame, the following labels must be present:

  • "Contains Aspartame"
  • "To Phenylketonurics: Contains Phenylalanine"

For products containing Aspartame and Saccharin, an Artificial Sweetening Substance License(8)should also be obtained.

 

B.     Net weight / volume;

    • Should be labelled with general SI Units.
    • For weight measures (e.g. g. kg, lb. etc), an indication to the type of weight such as "Net Weight:" should be present.

 

C.     Date marking (Expiration Date);

According to Regulation 19 of the Public Health (Food) Regulations, (R1 Chapter 182), imported foods requiring date marking (as listed in the Fifth Schedule of the Regulations) must be registered

The expiration date for these products should be 3mm or morein height.

 

The use of stickers to indicate any date markings are not allowed.

 

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There are 25 categories of food requiring date marking listed under Fifth Schedule of the Regulations:

  1. Cream, reduced cream, light cream, whipped cream and sour cream excluding sterilised canned cream
  2. Milk and milk products excluding hard cheese
  3. Pasteurised fruit juice and pasteurised fruit juice drink
  4. Pasteurised vegetable juice and pasteurised vegetable juice drink
  5. Tofu, "tauhu" or "doufu", a soya beancurd product made of basically soya beans, water and a coagulant, including "egg tofu", "taukua" or "dougan", and the soft soya beancurd dessert known as "tauhu" or "douhua", but excluding the oil fried tofu in the form of a pouch known as "taupok", and the dried beancurd stick
  6. Food which is stored or required to be stored at a chilling temperature to maintain or prolong its durable life but excluding raw fruits and vegetables​
  7. Sauces
  8. Kaya or egg jam
  9. Peanut butter
  10. Vitaminised fruit juice and Vitaminised fruit juice drink
  11. Vitaminised vegetables juice and vitaminised vegetable juice drink
  12. Flour and flour product (including biscuits, bread and kuih-muih)
  13. Eggs product
  14. Raisins and sultanas
  15. Chocolate, milk chocolate and those chocolate confectionery in which the characteristic ingredient is chocolate or cocoa, with or without the addition of fruits and nuts
  16. Breakfast-cereal with or without fruit and nuts except those in cans
  17. Infant's food
  18. Coconut cream, coconut milk, coconut paste, coconut cream powder and desiccated coconut
  19. Edible fats and edible oils
  20. Foods additive with a shelf life or less than 18 months
  21. Low energy form of any foods which requires date marking
  22. Margarine in non-hermetically sealed containers
  23. Meat product in non-hermetically sealed containers
  24. Non-carbonated pasteurised soft drink and non-carbonated U.H.T soft drink
  25. Nutrient supplement or preparation of nutrient supplement sold as food​​

  1. Storage instruction;
    • If the validity or expiration date of the product is dependent on its storage, then the storage instructions should be clearly labelled on the packaging.

       
  2. Name of the country of origin;
    • Should clearly indicate the country of packaging / last food processing (e.g. Product of…, Made in…, Manufactured in… etc.)

       
  3. Information on the Manufacturer / Importer;
    • The Name and address of the importer must be labelled for imported products.
    • The Name and address of the manufacturer must be labelled for local products.

 

Please Note that the information above is a summary from the Public Health (Food) Regulations (R1, chapter 182) and not all requirements are portrayed. All requirements are also dependent on the variety of food and its ingredients.​

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Supplementary documentation for the purpose of FIR includes declaration letters if the product contains the following ingredients;

 

  • Additives–

Source of additives e.g. plant, chemical or animal origin. The source should also be labelled on the packaging (e.g. "Additives are derived from ________ origin"). The type of animal used for any additives from animal origin must also be verified.

  • Artificial flavoring substances (For synthetic / Nature identical) –

Should provide either the provide flavor specification OR chemical name OR declaration that flavor is safe for consumption and conforms to Brunei or importing Country Regulations OR conforms to standards (e.g. FEMA, GRAS etc.).

  • Yeast –

Should attach a declaration letter to verify the type of yeast as only certain yeasts may be used in food products as stated in Regulation 29.

  • Vegetable Fats / Oils / Shortenings (whereby the type of vegetable is not stated in the packaging) –

Should attach a declaration letter to verify its origin. This should also be labelled (e.g. "Vegetable oils are of _______ origin") on the packaging.


Quantitative analysis reports (9) may also be requested if the ingredients contain food additives with maximum allowed levels of use(10) that are set under the Regulations.