MOHW Drafts Regulation: Health Foods Prohibited from Using Names of Traditional Chinese Medicine Formulas like Siwu Tang
Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) has announced a draft regulation prohibiting health foods from using names of 38 traditional Chinese medicine formulas, such as "Siwu Tang" and "Shiquan Dabu." This initiative aims to clarify the distinction between food and medicine, setting usage limits for low-dose Chinese medicinal materials in health products. The regulation categorizes medicinal materials for food use and imposes daily consumption limits for certain items, managing products exceeding specific concentrations as medicines. This rule applies only to health foods from pharmaceutical and food factories, excluding self-purchased medicinal materials or restaurant medicinal meals.
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- 📰 Published: April 14, 2026 at 14:43
- 🔍 Collected: April 14, 2026 at 15:01 (18 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 14, 2026 at 16:49 (1h 47m after Collected)
The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) has announced a draft regulation, for the first time setting limits on the usage of low-dose Chinese medicinal products. They will not be allowed to share names with 38 traditional Chinese medicine formulas recorded in ancient texts. In the future, health foods will not be allowed to use names like "Siwu Tang" or "Guilu Erxian Jiao." However, medicinal meals and "Sishen Tang" sold in restaurants can still retain their names. Xie Caibei, section chief of the Department of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, MOHW, explained that this institutionalization aims to clarify the management attributes of "food" and "medicine" to balance public safety and dietary culture. The draft specifies Chinese medicinal materials for food use, dividing them into two categories: 75 items with traditional edible culture (e.g., lily, lotus leaf) and 73 items requiring special safety attention (e.g., purslane, adzuki bean) with daily consumption limits. Products containing over 50% Chinese medicinal materials or exceeding 50% of the minimum daily dosage for specific second-category items will be managed as medicines. However, certain conditions, such as obtaining a health food permit, may exempt them from medicinal management. Xie Caibei emphasized that health food concentrations and proportions of Chinese medicinal materials must not exceed draft limits to prevent public misunderstanding. Names identical to 38 traditional formulas will be prohibited to avoid confusion with medicinal effects. Su Yichang, director of the Department of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, clarified that the regulation targets health foods from pharmaceutical and food factories, not self-purchased materials or restaurant dishes. The draft, titled "Standards for the Recognition of Chinese Medicinal Materials as Food Ingredients and Their Product Attributes," includes five key points and has a 60-day public comment period.
FAQ
Why is the MOHW regulating the names of health foods?
The MOHW is regulating health food names to prevent consumers from mistaking them for medicines and to clearly distinguish between food and medicine management categories.
What products are affected by this new regulation?
This regulation applies only to health foods manufactured by pharmaceutical and food factories. It does not affect Chinese medicinal materials purchased by individuals from traditional Chinese medicine stores or medicinal meals served in restaurants.
If names like "Siwu Tang" can no longer be used, how will health foods be renamed?
For example, "Siwu Yin" could be renamed "Meiren Yin" to avoid misleading consumers.