Content Labeling per Recommended Daily Intake Standard

JHFC-A-005　Enacted: 3 September 2026 / Effective: the same day

Japan Certified Health Food Council (JHFC) — English translation of the standard. In case of discrepancy the Japanese text prevails. Japanese original

Japan Certified Health Food Council (JHFC)

Enacted: 3 September 2026 / Effective: the same day

Preamble (Rationale for Enactment)

Content may be expressed on different bases, such as per individual unit, per sachet, per entire container, by raw material weight or per recommended daily intake. Furthermore, where amounts of compounds, elemental equivalents, extracts and marker components are mixed together, the basis of comparison may be misleading even if the numerical values are correct. This Standard is established to present content corresponding to the recommended daily intake together with intake units, calculation formulas and supporting test evidence.

Article 1 (Purpose)

The purpose of this Standard is to specify labeling units, the basis of calculation, the relationship with analytical values and the means of distinguishing different expressions among products for component content per recommended daily intake of health foods, and to assess whether labeled values can be recalculated.

Article 2 (Scope)

This Standard applies to content labeling for principal components or functional components of health foods that specify an intake amount, including tablets, capsules, powders, granules, liquids and jellies. Where calculation rules specific to nutrition labeling or official schemes exist, those rules shall take precedence.

Article 3 (Terms and Definitions)

1. Recommended daily intake: The recommended number of individual units or sachets, volume or weight to be consumed per day, as specified by the business operator in the labeling.
2. Base unit: A product unit, such as one individual unit, one sachet or a specified volume, that serves as the starting point for calculating content.
3. Measured content: The measured value of the component concerned obtained from a raw material or finished product using a specific test method.
4. Converted labeling: Labeling calculated on a basis different from the measurement basis, such as a compound, element, dry matter, extract or raw material equivalent.
5. Establishment of labeled values: The business operator's establishment of labeled values and control specifications on a substantiated basis, taking into account manufacturing variability and changes during storage.

Article 4 (Requirements)

1. Content shall be presented on the same labeling panel as the number of individual units or sachets, volume or weight constituting the recommended daily intake, or at a location where their correspondence can be readily verified. Where an intake range is provided, the intake amount to which the content corresponds shall be clearly stated, and it shall be verified that the content per base unit can be calculated back from the labeling copy.
2. The business operator shall record the content per base unit, the number of base units per day and the formula for calculating content per recommended daily intake. Where rounding, density conversion or moisture correction is performed, rules shall be established, and an independent recalculation shall be conducted using formulation records and calculation sheets.
3. The amount of raw material incorporated, the amount of the component concerned, purity and the amount of extract shall be distinguished. Where a converted value derived from a raw material is presented, the basis of conversion, substance concerned and referenced raw material specification shall also be stated. The amount of raw material added alone shall not be treated as the measured content of the finished product. Verification shall be conducted using supplier certificates of analysis, receiving records and manufacturing records.
4. Where multiple chemical forms, isomers or origins are combined in a total, the constituents included in the total shall be identified in labeling or public documentation. For converted labeling, such as elemental equivalents, the source of the conversion factor used and the calculation steps shall be retained, and the continuity between measured values, units before conversion and labeled values shall be verified using test records.
5. The business operator shall establish labeled values and control specifications for acceptance and release in light of product characteristics, analytical methods, manufacturing variability and storage conditions, and shall make them and their supporting basis public or available upon inquiry. Uniform values independently established by the Council shall not be used as the basis. Specifications, stability documentation and lot-specific certificates of analysis shall be cross-checked.
6. Where third-party testing of the finished product is used to substantiate labeling, the lot concerned, test method, units and sampling time shall be linked to the content labeling. Where only raw material testing has been conducted, that scope shall be clearly stated, and traceability from the public summary to the original certificate of analysis shall be verified in accordance with JHFC-A-003.
7. Where the total amount in the entire container, statements of increased quantity or totals for multiple days are also presented, the layout shall prevent them from being misconstrued as superior to the value per recommended daily intake. When the container size or recommended number of individual units changes, calculation sheets, packaging, sales pages and literature shall be revised at the same time, and records of the transition from previous versions shall be retained.

Article 5 (Assessment Categories)

Conformity: Intake units, the components concerned, calculation formulas and supporting test evidence correspond, and the labeled daily value can be recalculated.
Partial conformity: The basis for content values can be verified, but there are minor deficiencies in conversion explanations or presentation across media, and responsibility and deadlines for corrective action have been established.
Nonconformity: Raw material quantities and component quantities are confused, there is no correspondence with the recommended daily intake, or labeled values cannot be reproduced from supporting records.

Article 6 (Implementation)

The business operator may make a self-declaration of conformity by cross-checking content calculation sheets, specifications and labeling versions for each product. Upon application, the Council may verify the chain from labeling for one day's intake to test records or formulation records. Reassessment shall be conducted when the dosage form, recommended intake, raw material specifications, analytical methods or storage conditions change.

Supplementary Provisions

This Standard shall take effect on 3 September 2026.

Note: This Standard provides assessment criteria for information disclosure and quality management practices and does not guarantee the efficacy, effects or safety of individual products.

This standard is an evaluation standard on information disclosure and quality management; it does not guarantee the efficacy or safety of any individual product. Businesses may make a self-declaration of conformity based on this standard, and the Council confirms declarations upon application.

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