National standard for trans fat labeling

BEIJING - The amount of trans fat and other nutritional information will be marked on the labels of prepackaged food, according to the country's first national standard for food nutrition. The labeling will take effect on Jan 1, 2013.

"It will help standardize the nutrition facts labeling by food producers and facilitate consumers' rights to know and choose, while improving public awareness of food nutrition," said Yang Yuexin, a senior nutritionist with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The new regulation by the Ministry of Health stipulates that food labels have to include the food's nutrition information, including levels of energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate and sodium.