Food Labelling for Southeast Asia: Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia

One label, three markets: language is a legal requirement, not a design preference

Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia all regulate the labelling of prepacked food, and each has its own mandatory language. A single bilingual artwork rarely travels unchanged across the three: the questions are not "should we translate it" but "which language must be the primary one, how large must the type be, and where does the licence number go" — all of which the regulations settle.

This article covers the language and format side of the label — the part a printer controls. It is not legal advice. Ingredient, additive-limit and nutrition questions should be confirmed with the local authority, your importer or a compliance consultant.

2. Singapore: English throughout, and importers may over-sticker

• Language: Singapore's Food Regulations require the prescribed label particulars to appear in English. Chinese or Malay may appear alongside, but not instead of English.
• Who is liable: every food business offering prepacked food for sale — importers, distributors, manufacturers, packers and retailers. Your Singapore importer is the primary responsible party.
• Practical route: the Singapore Food Agency states that importers may apply sticker labels to imported food carrying the required information. So a common approach is a neutral bag or box with generic information, plus an English compliance sticker — work a printer can produce in the same run.
• Timing: Singapore's Food (Amendment) Regulations 2025 take effect on 30 January 2026. Artwork more than a year old is worth re-checking before the next shipment.
• Scope: prepacked food only; food sold loose, weighed in front of the buyer, or prepared to order is outside it (though allergen information should still be available on request).

3. Malaysia: Bahasa Malaysia for local packing, either language for imports

Malaysia's Food Regulations 1985 (P.U.(A) 437/85) split language by origin. Regulation 10:

• Food produced, prepared or packaged in Malaysia — the required wording must be in Bahasa Malaysia;
• Imported food — Bahasa Malaysia or English, and either way may carry a translation into other languages.

Regulation 11 sets the particulars. The two most often missed on imported packs come last:

• Appropriate designation of the food; "mixed" or "blended" wording where applicable
• List of ingredients in descending order by weight
• Net weight, volume or number; drained weight for food packed in liquid
• For imports: manufacturer's name and business address, the Malaysian importer's name and business address, and the country of origin
• Where beef, pork, their derivatives or lard are present: a "CONTAINS …" statement
• Where alcohol is added: "CONTAINS ALCOHOL" in capital, bold, non-serif type no smaller than 6 point
• Where food additives are present: "contains permitted (class)"

Type size (Regulation 12): required particulars are generally no smaller than 10 point; the ingredient list, additives, importer details and nutrition labelling may go down to 4 point. Date marking sits in Regulation 14 and nutrition labelling in Regulation 18B. Amendments effective 1 January 2024 added three things to watch: a quantitative ingredient declaration (QUID) for ingredients emphasised on the label, additives that may be declared by functional class with an INS number, and nutrition labelling extended to products previously exempt (dairy among them).

4. Indonesia: Indonesian text required, with millimetre type sizes

Indonesia is supervised by BPOM, mainly under BPOM Regulation No. 31/2018 (amended by 20/2021 and 6/2024). It is the market most often missed, because it specifies type height in millimetres.

• Language: the label must be written or printed in Indonesian. Imported processed food may carry a foreign language in addition; technical or scientific terms with no Indonesian equivalent may stay in the foreign term.
• Type size (hard limits): general text no smaller than the lowercase "o" of Arial at 1 mm; the product name and warning statements no smaller than 2 mm; labels of 10 cm² or less may go down to 0.75 mm.
• Mandatory content: product name (food-category name required, trade name optional), ingredient list in descending order with the percentage of the main ingredient, net weight or content (g/kg for solids, mL/L for liquids), producer and importer name and address (imports prefixed "Diimpor/didistribusikan oleh …"), halal information where required, production date and code, expiry information, the distribution licence number, and the origin of certain ingredients.
• Licence number format: domestic products carry "BPOM RI MD" plus the number; imported products carry "BPOM RI ML" plus the number. It must appear on the label. The label itself is approved together with the marketing authorisation.
• Expiry: state day, month and year; where shelf life exceeds three months the day is optional but month and year are mandatory, usually preceded by "Baik digunakan sebelum". If it is printed separately from the production code, the label must say where to find it.
• Allergens: allergen ingredients must appear in bold in the ingredient list, with the line "Mengandung alergen, lihat daftar bahan yang dicetak tebal".
• Pork: products containing pork-derived ingredients must carry "MENGANDUNG BABI" together with the pig mark.
• Nutrition (ING): the Informasi Nilai Gizi table must show serving size, servings per pack, energy, total fat, saturated fat, protein, total carbohydrate, sugar and sodium, plus the AKG percentage and footnotes. Coffee powder, tea and tea bags, bottled water, herbs and spices and seasonings are exempt.

5. Side-by-side comparison

6. Give your printer these eight things and the artwork is right first time

1. Target market and pack format (prepacked or loose)
2. Which language leads, and whether a second language runs alongside
3. Net weight or volume, with the units (g/kg for solids, mL/L for liquids)
4. The importer's full name and address as written in the local language — supplied by your customer, not translated by us
5. Licence and registration numbers, including the BPOM RI ML number for Indonesia
6. The minimum type size (millimetres in Indonesia — do not judge by eye on a design file)
7. Date format, printing method (foil stamp or inkjet) and position on the pack
8. Barcode: retail packs normally carry EAN-13 — keep the quiet zones clear and do not trim into them

7. Six checks before the shipment leaves

1. Is the language right? English in Singapore, Indonesian in Indonesia, Bahasa Malaysia for packs made in Malaysia — shipping a China-English bilingual label is the classic first mistake.
2. Does the type meet the local floor? In Indonesia measure the printed pack: 1 mm general, 2 mm for the name and warnings.
3. Importer name and address, country of origin and licence number — all present, in the prescribed position.
4. Expiry format and position, plus the pointer to the production code.
5. Allergens (bold in Indonesia), pork and alcohol statements.
6. Barcode quiet zones intact, and no glossy lamination crossing the barcode area.

8. A closing note

All three markets have moved recently: Singapore's 2025 amendment takes effect on 30 January 2026, Malaysia added QUID and wider nutrition labelling from 2024, and Indonesia's Regulation 31/2018 has been amended twice. An artwork that sat for a year may already be out of date. What a printer can guarantee is that the wording you give us is printed clearly in the language, size and position you specify; the compliance call rests with the local authority, your importer or your consultant. If it helps, we can produce a small sample run first so your importer can check a physical label against the rules.

Related reading: Food labelling for Hong Kong — the 1+7 panel, Barcode labels that will not scan, Export packaging that survives shipping, Allergen labelling in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, Roll label specifications: unwind, core, OD, gap and count.