The Ministry of Health Malaysia has notified proposed amendments to several schedules under the Food Regulations 1985 [P.U.(A) 437/1985] to introduce new functional ingredients and dietary components in specific food categories. The amendments were communicated through the WTO notification G/TBT/N/MYS/133.
The proposed changes aim to update regulatory provisions to accommodate emerging food ingredients used for functional claims, dietary fibre enhancement, and human milk oligosaccharides in infant and young child nutrition products.
Under the proposal, Galactooligosaccharide (GOS) will be introduced as a new component for other function claims by adding it to Table IV of the Fifth A Schedule, including the relevant function claims, minimum amount required, and applicable conditions for its use in food products.
The amendments also propose the addition of Partially Hydrolyzed Guar Gum (PHGG) as a new permitted added nutrient classified as dietary fibre. PHGG will be included under other food components in Table I of the Twelfth Schedule, thereby allowing its use as a dietary fibre ingredient in regulated food products.
In addition, the proposal introduces 3'-Fucosyllactose (3'-FL) as a new optional ingredient in specific infant and young child nutrition products. The ingredient and its maximum permitted nutrient levels will be inserted into:
Table II of the Sixteenth AA Schedule for formulated milk powder for children,
Table IA of the Twenty-First Schedule for infant formula, and
Table III of the Twenty-First A Schedule for follow-up formula.
3'-Fucosyllactose is a human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) increasingly used in infant nutrition to more closely mimic the composition of human breast milk.
The proposed amendments are intended to support innovation in functional foods and infant nutrition while maintaining regulatory oversight on ingredient levels, safety, and claims under the Malaysian food regulatory framework.
Consumer News Region