Thai food labelling Notification No. 474, awaiting the Gazette — sesame to join allergens, digital labels allowed, two years for existing labels

What the notice says

On 16 October 2026 the Thai FDA Food Division posted the key points of MOPH Notification No. 474 (B.E. 2569). It amends Notification No. 450 (dated 19 June 2024) on labelling of packaged food, and at the time of posting it was awaiting Royal Gazette publication (อยู่ระหว่างนำลงในราชกิจจานุเบกษา).

The main changes:

• Allergens: sesame and sesame products are added. Tree nuts are spelled out as nine items: almond, cashew, hazelnut, pecan, pistachio, walnut, Brazil nut, macadamia and pine nut.
• Sulphites and lactose: removed from the allergen list and moved to warning statements. For sulphites the warning applies at residues of 10 mg/kg or more, calculated as sulphur dioxide.
• Narrower labelling exemption: nine categories must be labelled even when the producer sells directly to consumers. They include food additives, infant and young child formulas and complementary foods, foods for special purposes, dietary supplements (ผลิตภัณฑ์เสริมอาหาร) and foods with added extracts, nutrients or synthetic substances.
• Digital labels: optional. Seven items must stay on the physical pack: product name, food registration number, net quantity, ingredients, allergen information, warnings and expiry date. Five categories, including infant foods, foods for special purposes and dietary supplements, must still show every item on the pack if they use a digital label.
• Country of manufacture is no longer required for export-only food, the drained-weight requirement is dropped, and font-size rules apply to Thai-language text only.

According to the comparison table posted alongside (marked as a draft), the notification takes effect the day after Gazette publication. Existing labels that comply with No. 450 may be used for up to two years, but the nine categories losing the exemption must comply from the effective date with no grace period.

Business implications

Manufacturers and importers of packaged food for Thailand should plan label revisions now. Products with sesame as an ingredient need a new allergen declaration, and products that list sulphites or lactose as allergens need to switch to warning statements.

Check products in the nine categories first, such as dietary supplements and fortified foods, since the comparison table gives them no grace period. Digital labels can free up pack space, but the seven items must stay on the pack, so a QR code alone cannot replace the label. The effective date will be fixed by Gazette publication, so confirm it has appeared before setting your timeline.