[ BFAD BUREAU CIRCULAR NO. 02, S. 1999, January 15, 1999 ]

AMENDMENT TO BFAD M.C. NO. 25, S. 1992, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "ADDITIONAL LABELING REQUIREMENT FOR FOOD SUPPLEMENTS"



  1. BFAD Memorandum Circular No. 25, s. 1992** , confirms the BFAD requirement of printing the caption " No Approved Therapeutic Claim" on the labels of all food supplements to ensure that such products are not commercially sold or advertised with therapeutic claims.

  2. To ensure that such labeling requirement is conspicuously seen by consumers, M.C. 25, s. 1992 is hereby amended providing for specific requirements on the printing of such caption.

  3. The following specifications shall be applied in printing the caption on the labels of all food supplements: Font size 14 pts. ; Font type - Arial; all capital and bold letters. Thus the caption shall appear as:

    NO APPROVED THERAPEUTIC CLAIMS

  4. This caption shall be printed on the primary display panel of all labeling materials used for food supplements (i.e. immediately label of the container, box, carton, brochures, leaflets, etc.)

  5. In case the label is too small to accommodate the above stated printing specifications, the letters of the caption shall be printed as one-half (1/2) the size of the largest text in the primary display panel, while still maintaining the other specifications.

  6. For currently registered products, which have approved labels not in accordance with the above provisions, a stick-labeling shall be allowed as a transitional remedy.

  7. This requirement shall become mandatory beginning 30 June 1999, to give food establishments sufficient time to make the necessary modification to the labels.

  8. After this date, all food supplements found not in compliance with this labeling shall be deemed misbranded subject to confiscation and penalties provided in R.A. 3720, as amended by E.O. 175, "The Food, Drugs and Devices and Cosmetics Act."
Adopted: 15 Jan. 1999

(SGD.) WILLIAM D. TORRES, PH.D.
Director

Note: This is a re-issuance of the content of Memorandum Circular No. 2, s. 1999 dated 15 January 1999 on same subject matter.

Memorandum Circular No. 2, s. 1999 is delisted from BFAD records upon issuance of this Circular.


** See NAR III/4, p. 468.