Frozen Food Labeling and Storage Temperatures: What Goes on a Frozen Dumpling Package

What Must Be Labeled on Frozen Dumplings

Packaged frozen dumplings are first and foremost "packaged food," so they must comply with Article 22 of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, clearly labeled in Chinese and common symbols with:

1. Product name
2. Contents (if two or more, listed in descending order of content)
3. Net weight, volume, or quantity
4. Names of food additives
5. Name, phone number, and address of the manufacturer or responsible domestic company
6. Country of origin
7. Expiration date
8. Nutrition labeling
9. Genetically modified food ingredients
10. Other items announced by the central competent authority

These "other announced items" include the TFDA's Labeling Regulations for Prepackaged Frozen Foods (市售包裝冷凍食品標示規定): in addition to the items above, frozen foods must also state storage methods and conditions; those that must be heated before eating must also state heating instructions. Frozen dumplings generally need to be cooked before eating, so the storage temperature and cooking method must be clearly stated.

In addition, under the Food Allergen Labeling Regulations (食品過敏原標示規定), products containing any of the 11 categories, such as eggs, soybeans, crustaceans, fish, sesame, and gluten-containing grains, must carry an allergen warning; see Allergen Management and Machine Changeover Cleaning. If meat or other ingredients are subject to notices requiring the origin of ingredients to be labeled, label them according to those notices as well.

Format Rules in the Enforcement Rules

Some frequently asked format rules in the Enforcement Rules of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法施行細則, last amended July 13, 2017):

• Font size (Article 19): Characters must be at least 2 mm in both height and width; on small packages with a largest surface area under 80 square centimeters, items other than the product name, manufacturer name, and expiration date may be smaller than 2 mm.
• Chinese and foreign languages (Article 19): For domestically manufactured products that also use a foreign language, Chinese is primary and the foreign language secondary.
• Expiration date (Article 13): Printed on the container or outer packaging, stating year, month, and day; for shelf lives of 3 months or more, only the year and month may be stated, with the last day of that month as the end date.
• Product name (Article 7): The name must match the nature of the food.

Storage Temperature Rules

• Storage and transport equipment: GHP (amended June 4, 2025) Annex 1 requires frozen storage or transport equipment to be kept at −18°C or below; refrigeration equipment at 7°C or below and above freezing point; temperature indicators must be installed in a visible place and records kept, with regular defrosting and avoidance of sharp temperature swings.
• During transport: GHP Article 8 requires that for transport compartments with freezing or refrigeration functions, the temperature inside be spot-checked and recorded during daily receiving, loading, sorting, or unloading; compartments carrying frozen food must not be warmer than −12°C, and those carrying chilled food not warmer than 7°C.
• At retail: GHP Article 27 states that the storage temperature originally set by the manufacturer must not be changed when selling or storing frozen food; frozen food must be packaged or suitably wrapped, and items with detached or damaged packaging may not be sold; freezer cabinets must not be loaded beyond the maximum load line.
• Frozen food factories: The refrigerated trucks listed in Article 9 of the factory establishment standards must be able to keep product temperature at −18°C or below.

Can Food Be Refrozen After Thawing?

No single provision directly says "refreezing after thawing is prohibited," but several rules point in the same direction: GHP Annex 3 requires that quality deterioration be prevented when frozen food is thawed; GHP Article 7 requires that the set storage conditions not be changed during warehousing unless there is a reasonable cause and records are kept. The TFDA's advice to the public is likewise to keep frozen food at −18°C or below and avoid repeated thawing and refreezing.

For businesses, repeated warming and refreezing causes frost on dumpling surfaces, cracked wrappers, and watery fillings, raising both quality and hygiene risks, so in practice it's usually avoided. Consumer packages also often carry usage notes such as "Cook promptly after thawing; do not refreeze."

How This Relates to Production

The storage conditions on the label must match your actual freezing capacity. If dumplings from an encrusting machine sit at room temperature too long before blast freezing, their surfaces tend to stick and deform, and the frozen quality suffers; production pace and freezing equipment capacity must be planned together. For the full application process for packaged frozen dumplings, see What Permits Do You Need to Sell Frozen Dumplings Made at Home or in a Shop?

FAQ

Q: What must be labeled on a frozen dumpling package?
A: The product name, contents, net weight, additives, manufacturer information, origin, expiration date, nutrition labeling, and so on under Article 22 of the Food Safety Act, plus the storage methods and conditions and heating instructions required by the Labeling Regulations for Prepackaged Frozen Foods, and an allergen warning where applicable.

Q: At what temperature should frozen food be stored?
A: GHP Annex 1 requires frozen storage or transport equipment to be kept at −18°C or below; transport compartments are spot-checked during receiving, loading, and unloading, and frozen compartments must not be warmer than −12°C.

Q: Can it be refrozen after thawing?
A: No provision directly prohibits it, but GHP requires preventing quality deterioration during thawing and not arbitrarily changing storage conditions, and the TFDA advises avoiding repeated thawing and refreezing, so in practice it's usually avoided.

Q: What's the minimum font size for labels?
A: Article 19 of the Enforcement Rules requires characters at least 2 mm in height and width; on small packages with a largest surface area under 80 square centimeters, items other than the product name, manufacturer name, and expiration date may be smaller than 2 mm.