The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) issued the latest draft of Regulations on Use Restrictions and Labeling Requirements for Aloes as a Food Ingredient, governing the use of the plant as an edible ingredient. The draft is due to take effect from January 1, 2022.
Aloe products have been commonly used and sold in Taiwan. To protect the health of the people and food safety, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) announced on October 7, 2020 that it would re-draft Regulations on Use Restrictions and Labeling Requirements for Aloes as a Food Ingredient. This means that aloes used in food products must be extracted from the leaves of aloe vera or aloe ferox, and the aloes must be completely peeled before being processed for use.
In addition, the MOHW has further required that food products using aloe leaves as an ingredient not contain more than 10 ppm of aloin and be labeled with a warning that reads: “Menstruating women, pregnant women, lactating mothers, children, and people with digestive tract, liver, or kidney diseases are advised against ingesting this product.”
Aloes are subsumed under the classification of “Herbaceous and Woody Plants (2)” in the “Compendium of Ingredients for Food Use” compiled by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) of the MOHW. The main active ingredient aloe leaves contain is aloin, a type of hydroxyanthracene derivative. International scientific studies have found that long-term consumption of foods or dietary supplements containing hydroxyanthracene derivatives poses a health concern. The MOHW, therefore, has re-introduced the regulations on the use of aloe leaves to safeguard the health of the public.
The above-mentioned draft is scheduled to take effect from January 1, 2022. However, before then, food products using aloe leaves as an ingredient can continue to be sold until their expiration date.
After the introduction of the draft, under Articles 47 and 48 of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, companies can be fined between NT$30,000 and NT$3 million for non-compliance with the above-mentioned regulations.