Label rules › Bhutan
Bhutan label requirements for packaging
Food in Bhutan is regulated under the Food Act of Bhutan 2005 and the Food Rules and Regulations of Bhutan (first issued in 2007, revised in 2017), by the Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority (BAFRA), now the Bhutan Food and Drug Authority (BFDA). Every pre-packaged food is labelled, and a label is correct when it follows the Codex Alimentarius labelling standards and/or the national requirements and does not mislead. The national requirement is the Bhutan Mandatory Standard for labelling of prepackaged food, BMS-12:2017, built on Codex’s General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods (CXS 1-1985) and applying, with its amendments, to all prepackaged food.
Checked: 27 October 2026
Mandatory items
| On the label | Means |
|---|---|
| Name of the food · ཟ་ཆས་ཀྱི་མིང | The name of the food, showing its true nature — specific, not generic; a brand or coined name stands beside it, never instead of it (BMS-12:2017, after Codex CXS 1-1985) |
| Ingredients · ནང་རྫས | Every ingredient, in descending order of weight at manufacture, additives by class and name or number (BAFRA’s minimum particulars; Codex 4.2) |
| Allergens | Foods known to cause hypersensitivity — gluten cereals, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soy, milk, tree nuts, sulphites of 10 mg/kg or more — always named in the ingredients (Codex 4.2.1.4) |
| Net weight · Net content · ལྗིད་ཚད་ངོ་མ | Net content in metric units: weight for solids, volume for liquids; drained weight for food in a liquid medium (Codex 4.3) |
| Manufactured by · བཟོ་མི | Name and address of the manufacturer, packer, distributor or importer (BAFRA’s minimum particulars; CPRR 2015, section 22) |
| Country of origin · ཐོན་སའི་རྒྱལ་ཁབ | The country where the food was made — Product of Bhutan for local goods (BAFRA’s minimum particulars; CPRR 2015, section 22) |
| Batch No. · Lot | Lot identification, so the batch can be traced; BFDA’s licensing criteria give every finished product a unique batch number |
| Mfg. date · Best before / Use by | Date marking: date of manufacture and expiry or best-before date, day–month–year in a clear order; fresh fruit and vegetables are exempt (BMS-12:2017; CPRR 2015, section 22) |
| Storage · Instructions for use | Storage conditions when the date depends on them, and directions for use where the food could not be used right without them (Codex 4.7, 4.8) |
| Genetically modified | Food, ingredients and additives from genetic modification say so: “product of gene technology”, “genetically modified” or “containing a genetically modified food or ingredient” (Food Rules and Regulations, 2007 text, section 11) |
| Organic | The word “organic” only when at least 95 % of the ingredients by weight are organic; 70–95 % may say “made with organic ingredients” with the proportion; water and salt are not counted (BAFRA) |
| BFDA - GHP/GMP · Lic No: FSL-XX/YY/ZZZZ | The Food Safety License mark of a licensed food business, on the principal display panel: a light-green rectangle split by a white line, “BFDA - GHP/GMP” above, the licence number below (BFDA-IS-PR-26(FD), rev. 04, 2024) |
Food: the Food Rules and BMS-12:2017
Section 10 of the Food Rules and Regulations (2007 text): any pre-packaged food shall be labelled, and is correctly labelled if the Codex standards and/or national requirements are followed and the label does not mislead the purchaser or consumer. Section 12 forbids presenting food in a false, misleading or deceptive way — pictures included.
BAFRA lists the minimum particulars of BMS-12:2017: the name of the food; the ingredient declaration; the net content; the name and address of the manufacturer; the country of origin; lot identification; and date marking. The manufacturer, importer, producer, distributor or retailer makes sure the food it places on the market is labelled this way.
Readers of the standard note that fresh fruit and vegetables are exempt from date marking, that very small units (a surface under 10 cm²) may be exempt from the ingredient list and nutrition information, and that irradiated food says so next to its name.
The Consumer Protection Rules and Regulations 2015 (sections 19 and 22) ask the same of goods on sale: trade or brand name, trademark, business name, manufacturer’s address, ingredients, net weight, country of manufacture, and the dates of manufacture and expiry.
Dzongkha or English
Product information on a pre-packaged food is printed in Dzongkha or English, on a label fixed securely to the package or on the package itself. When the original label is in another language, the importer or distributor adds the information in English or Dzongkha — usually a sticker — before sale; BFDA has reminded importers of this by public notification.
Most packs on Bhutan’s shelves are in English; local products often add the Dzongkha name. Dzongkha is written in the Tibetan script: stacked letters and vowel signs above and below the line need a Tibetan font (Jomolhari, DDC Uchen, Noto Serif Tibetan) and more line height than Latin text. Registered trademarks stay as registered.
GM, organic and other claims
Section 11: food, ingredients and additives obtained through genetic modification are identified on the label as a “product of gene technology”, “genetically modified” or “containing a genetically modified food or ingredient”; the Biosafety Rules and Regulations apply as well.
BAFRA’s rule for organic food: “organic” may be used only when at least 95 % of the ingredients by weight are organic; between 70 % and 95 %, only “made with organic ingredients” with the proportion stated; under 70 %, organic ingredients may be named only in the ingredient list. Added water and salt are left out of the sums, and products from wild collection are declared as “products of wild production”.
The Food Safety License mark
Food businesses licensed by BFDA against its GHP/GMP criteria (Food Act section 54; Food Rules section 28) print the Food Safety License mark on the label of each product, on the principal display panel. BFDA’s guideline BFDA-IS-PR-26(FD), revision 04 of 4 December 2024, sets its design: a rectangle split in two by a horizontal white line, “BFDA - GHP/GMP” above in white bold Times New Roman capitals, “Lic No: FSL-XX/YY/ZZZZ” below in white bold italics, on light green (#9bbb59) with a green border (#71893F). It may be larger or smaller but keeps its proportions; on packs under 10 cm² it may go on the outer package.
The mark is not a product certification mark: it says the business holds a valid licence. A conditional food safety clearance or a food handler’s licence number may not be used in its place, and misusing the mark is a criminal offence. The master copy comes from BFDA’s head office.
Laying it out in Drint
- Drint has no Bhutan label kit yet and does not check these rules. Lay the label on the back panel with Insert → Product label or text blocks.
- Paste the client’s English and Dzongkha text as it is — Drint does not translate. For Dzongkha, pick a Tibetan font and check that no stacked letter is clipped.
- Insert → Nutrition table builds a per-100 g table if the client declares nutrition.
- Leave a frame on the principal display panel for the client’s FSL mark with their own licence number, and a place for the batch number and dates that the packing line prints.
- Check in Export still finds text near the cut, small text, low-resolution pictures and ink problems.
Questions
Must the label be in Dzongkha?
No: Dzongkha or English. Most labels are in English; many Bhutanese brands add the Dzongkha name. A label in any other language needs English or Dzongkha added before sale, usually by sticker.
Can any pack carry the BFDA FSL mark?
Only products made in a food business that holds a valid Food Safety License, with that business’s own number. Ask the client for the number and for BFDA’s master artwork; never redraw it in other colours.
Is a nutrition table compulsory?
BAFRA’s list of minimum particulars does not include one; BMS-12:2017 follows Codex, where nutrition labelling is set by the separate guideline CXG 2-1985. Declare it when the client makes a nutrition or health claim, or exports to a market that requires it.
Is there a minimum text size?
We could not read a figure in BMS-12:2017. Codex asks that the required particulars be clear, prominent and easy to read; keep the name and net content large on the principal display panel and check the rest with your client.
A summary written to design packs, not legal advice. The full text of BMS-12:2017 could not be opened for this page. Before printing, check the current BMS-12:2017 and the Food Rules and Regulations of Bhutan 2017 with BFDA (bfda.gov.bt), the client’s Food Safety License and BFDA’s FSL mark artwork.