California AB 660 takes effect July 1, 2026, requiring all packaged food products sold in California to use standardized quality date and safety date labels. “Sell by” dates will be prohibited on consumer-facing packaging, with a narrow exception for coded dates used solely for inventory management purposes. Companies that manufacture, distribute, or sell packaged food products in California should act now to avoid potential penalties and litigation risk. CIRS has summarized the two key changes to California’s food date labeling rules.

On February 26, 2026, Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) published voluntary guidelines for front-of-pack nutrition labelling on processed foods. The guidelines took effect upon publication. Their purpose is to help consumers quickly access nutritional information and make healthier dietary choices. It applies to food-related businesses producing processed foods for general consumption in Japan.

In order to further refine the requirements on digital labels specified in the National Food Safety Standard: General Rules for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods (GB 7718-2025

On June 22, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 25 (SB 25) into law, significantly tightening food labeling regulations in the state. Effective January 1, 2027, all food and beverage products sold in Texas that contain one or more of the 44 substances listed in the bill will be required to display a warning label.

A new Texas bill targeting controversial food additives could require warning labels on popular snacks, potentially reshaping ingredient labelling across the US.

On April 25, 2025, we hosted a free Chinese webinar on the key points and considerations in food registration in different countries and US food label compliance. Many questions were raised during the webinar.We have collected the questions and made a Q&A summary.

On April 11, 2025, we hosted a free Chinese webinar on the key points and considerations in health food labels. Many questions were raised during the webinar.

In day-to-day life, you’ve likely heard marketing slogans like: “Our product has a clean ingredient list – no added sucrose or preservatives, making it safe for both the elderly and children.” Businesses often use these claims to create a perfect image of their products. When consumers see labels such as “不添加蔗糖 (no sucrose added)” or “不添加食品添加剂 (no food additives)”, they subconsciously assume the product is of high quality. However, sucrose is not the only type of sugar, and food additives are not necessarily harmful.

Recently, the newly revised Food Label Supervision and Administration Measures (hereinafter referred to as the “Measures”) and the National Food Safety Standard General Rules for Prepackaged Food Labels (GB 7718-2025) were officially released and will take effect simultaneously on March 16, 2027. These new regulations standardize various labeling requirements for food products and further clarify the requirements for special food labels, including health food.

Recently, the National Health Commission and the State Administration for Market Regulation have jointly issued an announcement regarding the General Standard for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (GB 7718-2025) and 50 other national food safety standards, along with nine amendments (Announcement No. 2 of 2025).