Page 1 of 4 
 Draft as of 11 January  2023.  
 
[Date stamp here]  
 
FDA CIRCULAR     
No.    
   
 
SUBJECT:  Guidelines on the Adoption of 2015 Philippine Dietary Reference 
Intakes  (PDRI)  for D eclaration of Nutrition Information on the  
Labels  Repealing Bureau Circular No. 16 s. 2005 entitled 
“Adopting the 20 02 Recommended Energy and Nutrient Intakes 
as the New Dietary Standard”  
 
 
I. RATIONALE  
 
It is a policy of the State as embodied in Article II, Section 15 of the 1987 
Constitution to protect and promote t he right to health of the people and instill health 
consciousness among them and in Section 12, Article XIII of the 1987 Constitution to 
establish and maintain an effective food and drug regulatory system and undertake 
appropriate health manpower developme nt and research, responsive to the country’s 
health needs and problems.  
 
It is further declared as a policy of the State under Republic Act No. 7394 or the 
Consumer Act of the Philippines to enforce compulsory labelling, and fair packaging 
to enable the co nsumer to obtain accurate information as to the nature, quality and 
quantity of the contents of consumer products and to facilitate comparison of the value 
of such products.   
 
As the 2002 Recommended Energy and Nutrient Intake (RENI) needs updating, 
the Department of Science and Technology - Food and Nutrition Research Institute 
(DOST -FNRI) has formulated and developed set of dietary standards base d on the 
recent and updated available information for the following: 1) Estimated Average 
Requirement (EAR); 2 ) Recommended Energy Intake/Recommended Nutrient Intake 
(REI/RNI) ; 3) Adequate Intake (AI); 4) Tolerable Upper Intake/Upper Limit (UL); 
and 5) Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range (AMDR ), which are now 
prescribed in the 2015 Philippine Dietary Refer ence Intakes (PDRI).  
 
In line with these changes, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shall use the 
new REI/RNI prescribed in the 2015 PDRI as the reference standard in nutrition 
labelling of processed food products, planning food fortification program, nutrition 
advocacy, and formulati ng laws, among others. The REI/RNI shall be used in place 
of the 2002 RENI for Filipinos. Thus, updating the Bureau Circular No.16 s.2005. The 
guidelines on the use of REI/RNI for nutrition informatio n on the label of processed 
foods are promulgated under this  Circular.  
 
  
Page 2 of 4 
 II. OBJECTIVES  
 
This Circular aims to update the reference of dietary standard used in processed 
food products.  
 
 
III. SCOPE  
 
This Circular shall cover all nutrition labeling of processed food products, planning 
food fortification program, nutrition advocacy, and formulating laws, among others.  
 
 
IV. GUIDELINES  ON THE USE OF RECOMMENDED ENERGY/NUTRIENT 
INTAKE FOR LABEL DECLARATION OF NUTRITION INFORMATION  
 
1. % RE I/RNI shall be used in the nut rition information table (Table 1) 
following the Recommended Energy/Nutrient Intake lev els prescribed by 
FNRI. Tables 2 -4 (See Annex A)  summarize the reference values for 
computing energy and nutrient levels in nutrition  information.  
 
                      Table 1. Sample Format for Nutrition Facts Declaration  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. The statement “Based on PDRI 2015” shall be declared below the 
Nutrition Facts/ Nutrition Information / Nutritive Value  table.  
 
3. For purposes of computing the nutrient content expressed in terms of % 
REI/RNI the computation shall be based on the PDRI 2015 for male adults 
 
Page 3 of 4 
 ages nineteen (19) to twenty -nine (29). In cases of food products intended 
for a specific group, RE I/RNI values for the said group shall be made as 
the basis of RE I/RNI declaration and such fact shall be indicated on the 
label.  
 
4. When the product is intended for 2 or more age groups, age group with 
the highest values for energy and nutrients shall be used, i.e. products 
intended for 13 -18 years old (13 -15 and 16 -18 y/o), r ecommended values 
for male, 16 -18 years old shall be  used.  
 
5. Computation of iron level for general population shall be based on iron 
values for male, unless the product is intended for female, the iron values 
for female shall be  used.  
 
6. For the purpose of co mputation on the levels of fiber, the mid -value 23 g 
based on the recommended range 20 -25 g for adult and the mean value 13 
g based on the recommended range 11 -14 g for children 6 -9 y/o shall be  
used.  
 
7. Average amount of the actual values based on analysis shall be used to 
declare levels of energy and nutrients. However, other recognized nutrient 
database maybe used as basis for the computation as applicable. The 
amounts of energy and nutrients shall be declared in whole numbers. 
However, for B -vitamins, cho lesterol, saturated fat and trans - fat, average 
values shall be declared without increment or rounding off, and on the 
nearest tenths place or hundredths place. Example, if the average amount 
is 0.32 mg cholesterol, declaration shall be 0.3 mg; if the aver age amount 
is 0.0088 mg, declaration shall be 0.01 mg.  
 
8. %RE I/RNI values shall be declared in whole numbers. Nutrients present 
in amounts less than 2 percent of the RNI shall be indicated by the 
statement “contains less than (or symbol  „<‟) 2% RNI”  or by an asterisk  
referring  to this statement.  
 
9. Certain food products that contain insignificant amounts of nutrients to be 
declared on the label can be exempted from specific nutrient analysis 
based on its innate composition (e.g. dried mango with no saturated fat, 
cholesterol, trans - fat; coconut oil which does  not have fiber, sodium, 
protein, ash/minerals; plant based single component product (zero [0] 
cholesterol), single component animal based product (zero [0] dietary 
fiber), coffee and most spices, flavor  extracts, food color, as determined 
by FDA.  The product  that contains insignificant amount of specific 
nutrient, this particular nutrient shall be listed in the nutrition information 
and the amount shall be declared as “0”.  
  
10. The Tolerable Upper Intake Levels or Upper Limits (UL)  (see Annex B)  
is the highest average daily nutrient intake level likely to pose no adverse 
health effects to almost all individuals in the general population. The 
nutrients may be obtained from differe nt dietary sources such as food and 
supplements. Hence , UL shall not be used as basis for the maximum limit  
Page 4 of 4 
 of vitamins and minerals for Food Supplement.   
 
11. Products such as Food for Special Medical Purposes,  Food for Special 
Dietary Uses, Infant  Formula , Milk Supplement, bottled water  among 
others shall fol low its own prescribed guidelines /standards  in nutrition 
labelling.  
 
 
V. TRANSITORY PROVISION  
 
After 12 months from effectivity of this issuance, non -compliant products shall 
thereafter be deemed misbranded and appropriate sanctions against the violating 
establishment shall be imposed.  
 
 
VI. REPEALING CLAUSE  
 
The Bureau Circular No. 16 s. 2005 “Adopting the 2002 Recommended Energy and 
Nutrient Intakes as the New Dietary Standard ”, and other FDA issuanc es inconsistent 
with this Circular are hereby repealed accordingly.  
 
 
VII. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE  
 
If any provision of this Circular be declared as invalid or unenforceable, the validity 
and enforceability of the remaining portions or provisions shall remain in f ull force and 
effect .   
 
 
VIII.  EFFECTIVITY  
 
This Circular shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official 
Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation and upon filing with the University 
of the Philippines Law Center Office of the National Administrative Register.  
 
 
 
 
DR. SAMUEL A. ZACATE  
Director General  
DTN 20200306104635  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 5 of 4 
  
 
 
  
Page 1 of 3 
 ANNEX A  
 
REFERENCE VALUES  
 
 
Table 2 
 
Page 2 of 3 
  
 
Table 3  
 
Page 3 of 3 
  
Table 4  
 
Page 1 of 1 
 ANNEX B