Food Bill 2026 tabled in Dewan Rakyat, proposing stronger powers to regulate food safety, labelling, advertising and online food transactions
KUALA LUMPUR: The Food Bill 2026 has been tabled for the first reading in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib said the second and third readings of the Bill, which seeks to amend the Food Act 1983 (Act 281), would take place during the current parliamentary session.
According to the Bill’s text uploaded to the official Parliament portal, the amendments include Section 3 of Act 281, enabling the minister to authorise any public officer to obtain samples of food contact materials that could affect the public interest of consumers.
Clause 4 aims to amend Section 4 of the Act to expand the powers of authorised officers, including the authority to conduct investigations into food and food contact materials.
“This clause also aims to address advertising issues and empower authorised officers to summon the attendance of any person possessing knowledge of the facts and circumstances of a case,” the Bill states.
Meanwhile, Clause 9 seeks to introduce a new Section 8A into Act 281, empowering authorised officers to access recorded information, computerised data, or digital data to conduct thorough investigations in line with the growth of online transactions.
“Clause 13 aims to introduce a new Section 11A into Act 281 to provide for the closure of premises used to prepare or sell food containing substances harmful to health,” the document states.
Other amendments include Sections 15 and 16 which respectively address labeling that fails to meet food standards and false labeling to ensure they also cover food-contact materials.
