August 2024
Ninth Year of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition: Advancing Nutritional Policies in Taiwan
August 2024
Jane Tsai and Elesha Wang
The United Nations General Assembly declared 2016 to 2025 as the Decade of Action on Nutrition, aiming to eliminate all forms of malnutrition. To foster a healthy dietary environment, Taiwan enacted its first specialized legislation addressing dietary and nutritional improvements, known as the "Nutrition and Healthy Diet Promotion Act" (hereinafter "Act"), was promulgated and implemented by the President on January 3, 2024. The article titled "Navigating Taiwan’s Battle Against Nutrition Misinformation: Penalties Unveiled and a Boost for Healthy Diets" provides an overview of the regulatory aspects and associated penalties of the Act. Additionally, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (hereinafter "MOHW") announced the "Enforcement Rules of the Nutrition and Healthy Diet Promotion Act" (hereinafter "Rules") and the "Reward Regulations for the Construction of a Healthy Dietary Environment" (hereinafter "Regulations") on July 1, 2024. These authorized regulations provide the legal foundation for advancing nutrition and healthy diet promotion efforts in Taiwan. The key points of these regulations are summarized as follows:
1. Enforcement Rules of the Nutrition and Healthy Diet Promotion Act
To ensure the effective implementation and clear definition of the relevant provisions of the Act, the Rules comprehensively regulate the following aspects:
I. The adoption of appropriate mechanisms for public participation when convening the Nutrition Consultation Conference (Article 2).
II. The meaning and scope of nutrition and healthy diet education (Article 3).
III. The criteria for determining and identifying the dissemination of false nutritional and healthy diet information (Article 4).
For example, Article 4 of the Rules stipulates that the determination of false nutritional and healthy diet information should be based on a comprehensive assessment of the overall presentation, including text, images, symbols, videos, sounds, and other messages. Specifically, information may be considered false if it is exaggerated, easily misleading, inconsistent with facts, lacking in evidence, or supported by insufficient evidence.
2. Reward Regulations for the Construction of a Healthy Dietary Environment
To encourage active participation in the construction of a healthy dietary environment, the Regulations outline the following aspects:
I. Reward Recipients (Article 2): Includes government agencies at all levels, military units, medical institutions, nursing homes, social welfare organizations, long-term care service providers, schools, kindergartens, childcare institutions, food and beverage businesses, and legal entities or groups.
II. Matters Related to the Construction of a Healthy Dietary Environment (Article 3)
III. Methods of Reward (Article 4): For eligible recipients, rewards may include partial funding subsidies or, for those with outstanding performance, awards such as medals, certificates, prize money, or public praise.
IV. Reward Application Procedures (Article 5)
V. Reward Review Process (Article 6)
VI. Revocation or Repeal of Rewards (Article 7)
The contents of all materials (Content) available on the website belong to and remain with Lee, Tsai & Partners. All rights are reserved by Lee, Tsai & Partners, and the Content may not be reproduced, downloaded, disseminated, published, or transferred in any form or by any means, except with the prior permission of Lee, Tsai & Partners.
The Content is for informational purposes only and is not offered as legal or professional advice on any particular issue or case. The Content may not reflect the most current legal and regulatory developments. Lee, Tsai & Partners and the editors do not guarantee the accuracy of the Content and expressly disclaim any and all liability to any person in respect of the consequences of anything done or permitted to be done or omitted to be done wholly or partly in reliance upon the whole or any part of the Content. The contributing authors' opinions do not represent the position of Lee, Tsai & Partners. If the reader has any suggestions or questions, please do not hesitate to contact Lee, Tsai & Partners.
Jane Tsai and Elesha Wang
The United Nations General Assembly declared 2016 to 2025 as the Decade of Action on Nutrition, aiming to eliminate all forms of malnutrition. To foster a healthy dietary environment, Taiwan enacted its first specialized legislation addressing dietary and nutritional improvements, known as the "Nutrition and Healthy Diet Promotion Act" (hereinafter "Act"), was promulgated and implemented by the President on January 3, 2024. The article titled "Navigating Taiwan’s Battle Against Nutrition Misinformation: Penalties Unveiled and a Boost for Healthy Diets" provides an overview of the regulatory aspects and associated penalties of the Act. Additionally, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (hereinafter "MOHW") announced the "Enforcement Rules of the Nutrition and Healthy Diet Promotion Act" (hereinafter "Rules") and the "Reward Regulations for the Construction of a Healthy Dietary Environment" (hereinafter "Regulations") on July 1, 2024. These authorized regulations provide the legal foundation for advancing nutrition and healthy diet promotion efforts in Taiwan. The key points of these regulations are summarized as follows:
1. Enforcement Rules of the Nutrition and Healthy Diet Promotion Act
To ensure the effective implementation and clear definition of the relevant provisions of the Act, the Rules comprehensively regulate the following aspects:
I. The adoption of appropriate mechanisms for public participation when convening the Nutrition Consultation Conference (Article 2).
II. The meaning and scope of nutrition and healthy diet education (Article 3).
III. The criteria for determining and identifying the dissemination of false nutritional and healthy diet information (Article 4).
For example, Article 4 of the Rules stipulates that the determination of false nutritional and healthy diet information should be based on a comprehensive assessment of the overall presentation, including text, images, symbols, videos, sounds, and other messages. Specifically, information may be considered false if it is exaggerated, easily misleading, inconsistent with facts, lacking in evidence, or supported by insufficient evidence.
2. Reward Regulations for the Construction of a Healthy Dietary Environment
To encourage active participation in the construction of a healthy dietary environment, the Regulations outline the following aspects:
I. Reward Recipients (Article 2): Includes government agencies at all levels, military units, medical institutions, nursing homes, social welfare organizations, long-term care service providers, schools, kindergartens, childcare institutions, food and beverage businesses, and legal entities or groups.
II. Matters Related to the Construction of a Healthy Dietary Environment (Article 3)
III. Methods of Reward (Article 4): For eligible recipients, rewards may include partial funding subsidies or, for those with outstanding performance, awards such as medals, certificates, prize money, or public praise.
IV. Reward Application Procedures (Article 5)
V. Reward Review Process (Article 6)
VI. Revocation or Repeal of Rewards (Article 7)
The contents of all materials (Content) available on the website belong to and remain with Lee, Tsai & Partners. All rights are reserved by Lee, Tsai & Partners, and the Content may not be reproduced, downloaded, disseminated, published, or transferred in any form or by any means, except with the prior permission of Lee, Tsai & Partners.
The Content is for informational purposes only and is not offered as legal or professional advice on any particular issue or case. The Content may not reflect the most current legal and regulatory developments. Lee, Tsai & Partners and the editors do not guarantee the accuracy of the Content and expressly disclaim any and all liability to any person in respect of the consequences of anything done or permitted to be done or omitted to be done wholly or partly in reliance upon the whole or any part of the Content. The contributing authors' opinions do not represent the position of Lee, Tsai & Partners. If the reader has any suggestions or questions, please do not hesitate to contact Lee, Tsai & Partners.
