Importing Japanese Food into Thailand: Licence, Labels, Checks

Japanese noodles, snacks and seasonings sell well in Thailand, and an importer can usually find the products. The work is on the Thai side. The importing company needs a food import licence, many products need a food serial number before they are imported, the label has to be in Thai, and every shipment passes a Thai FDA checkpoint where documents and samples can be checked.

This guide sets out what the Thai importer needs, in the order it is needed, and what each step depends on from the supplier in Japan. Sunsho Trade buys the food in Japan and exports it; the importer in Thailand is your company.

💬 Planning a first order of Japanese food for Thailand? Sunsho Trade buys everyday Japanese food in Japan and exports it, with the product information your Thai FDA filings depend on. Send us your product list.

Who regulates imported food in Thailand

Food imported for sale in Thailand is regulated by the Thai Food and Drug Administration (Thai FDA) under the Food Act B.E. 2522 (1979): its Food Division licenses importers and products, and its Import and Export Inspection Division checks shipments at the border.

Section 15 of the Food Act prohibits anyone from importing food for sale without a licence from the licensing authority. The Thai FDA Food Division handles the importer’s licence, the food serial number and label rules. The Import and Export Inspection Division runs the FDA checkpoints at ports and airports, where each consignment is cleared.

Step 1. The importer’s licence (Or.6 application, Or.7 licence)

The Thai company applies on form Or.6 through the Thai FDA e-Submission system and, once approved, receives the Or.7 licence to import or order food into the Kingdom.

The Thai FDA’s English page says the importer must be “a person or a juristic person with a commercial registration certificate” with a place of business in Thailand. The Food Division’s Thai-language page (dated 8 November 2023) sets out four steps: create an account in the government’s OPEN ID system, open access to e-Submission and register the company’s master data, file the Or.6 application with the required documents, then pay the licence fee and print the electronic Or.7.

The same page states:

Confirm these figures with the Thai FDA before you budget, as fees and service times can change.

The same page adds a point that matters for Japanese food. When importing, the importer must prepare documents on the product’s quality and standard and a certificate showing that the manufacturer’s production system is equivalent to, or not lower than, GMP 420 (the Thai GMP rule for all food products). Ask early which manufacturer certificate your Thai FDA file will accept. Japanese manufacturers do not always issue certificates to a third party, so we confirm what is available for each product before you order it.

Step 2. A food serial number, depending on the food group

Thai food law sorts products into four groups, and the first three (specifically controlled food, food with quality or standard requirements, and food required to bear a label) need a food serial number before they are imported for sale.

The Food Division’s product page explains that after receiving the Or.7, an importer files for a food serial number where the product falls into a group that requires one. Group 4, general food, is not required to file for a serial number before import, but if the importer chooses to obtain one, the label must then be correct. The English importation page adds that some general foods, such as plant and animal products, may be imported without an FDA number but must be recorded in the Virtual Number System.

Which group a Japanese noodle, sauce, tea or snack falls into is decided under the Thai FDA’s food classification criteria. The answer depends on the exact product. Ask the Thai FDA’s e-consult service or your regulatory consultant for each line, with the full ingredient list.

💬 Need full ingredient lists and pack photos for each product before you apply for serial numbers? Tell us which products you want to import.

Thai labels: what the notification requires

Prepackaged food imported for sale must carry its label particulars in Thai, including the food serial number, the importer’s name and address, the manufacturer’s name and country, ingredients, allergens and a dated “should consume by” or expiry line.

The rule is Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 450 B.E. 2567 (2024) on labelling of prepackaged foods, published on 18 July 2024. It repealed the earlier Notification No. 367 B.E. 2557 (2014) and its amendments, and its two-year transition for labels made under No. 367 has ended. We read the Thai FDA’s unofficial English translation; the Thai text prevails. Clause 5 lists the particulars, which include:

• food name and food serial number;
• for imported food, the importer’s name and address and the manufacturer’s name and country, shown so that a consumer can tell which is the importer;
• net contents in metric units;
• main ingredients by percentage weight;
• a “contains” or “may contain” allergy statement covering gluten cereals, crustacea, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, tree nuts, sulphite at 10 mg/kg or more, and shellfish and squid;
• food additive information, with colours and preservatives named or given INS numbers, and flavour statements;
• a date with “should consume by” or “Expiration Date”: day, month and year where shelf life is 90 days or less, month and year where it is longer;
• warnings, storage and cooking instructions where relevant.

Japanese food usually carries a best-before date. No. 450 defines a “consume before date” as the end of best quality and says that after this date the food cannot be marketed, so the date of each lot has to be known before the Thai label or sticker is printed. Food that is not sold to consumers, but to manufacturers or food businesses as raw material, may carry a shorter label in English instead of Thai, with the words “raw materials for food processing only” or similar. Our Japanese snacks wholesale guide explains how allergen lines on Japanese packs are read.

At the Thai FDA checkpoint: one licence per invoice

For every shipment, the importer applies for a License per Invoice (LPI) through the Customs Department’s National Single Window and presents the customs entry, invoice or bill of lading, the LPI notice and, where requested, samples at the Thai FDA checkpoint.

The Import and Export Inspection Division’s page on food imported for sale (dated 8 July 2025) lists the sequence: hold the import licence, obtain a food serial number or a virtual number as the product requires, apply for an LPI for each import, file a power of attorney for clearance at the FDA checkpoint, and prepare the import entry with Thai Customs. At the checkpoint, officers check the customs entry, the invoice or bill of lading, the LPI notice and samples of the imported food, and the label must follow the Ministry of Public Health labelling notifications.

The same page says that if a label is in neither Thai nor English, a translation has to be prepared. A Japanese-only pack is in that position, so plan the translation of the Japanese label text before the goods arrive.

Animal-derived ingredients: beef risk and livestock rules

Food with a beef-related risk is subject to a separate Thai FDA notification on bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and food made from animal products may also fall under the Department of Livestock Development’s import controls, so flag meat-containing products before ordering.

The checkpoint page requires supporting documents for food with a risk from bovine spongiform encephalopathy under Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 459 B.E. 2568 (2025), on import requirements and conditions for such food. We did not read the full conditions of that notification, so confirm with the Thai FDA which documents apply before you order any product containing beef or beef extract.

Separately, the Department of Livestock Development’s import page under the Animal Epidemics Act B.E. 2558 (2015) describes form R.1/1, filed through the e-movement system at least 7 working days in advance, for bringing animals or animal carcasses into Thailand. Its reference list includes a 2018 announcement that designates cooked food prepared or cooked from animal carcasses as carcasses. We could not confirm from a primary source which shelf-stable products, such as noodles with a pork extract or curry blocks with beef fat, fall within that scope. Ask the Department of Livestock Development and your customs broker product by product. Our guide to Japanese instant noodles shows where meat and seafood extracts sit in a noodle’s ingredients.

Proof of origin from Japan: three agreements

Japanese goods entering Thailand can claim a preferential rate under the Japan–Thailand EPA, the ASEAN–Japan agreement (AJCEP) or RCEP, and the certificate is issued in Japan by the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

JCCI states that the ordinary certificates of origin issued by local chambers of commerce do not support EPA tariff rates. Ask for the EPA certificate by name, and agree with your broker which agreement to use for each tariff line before the quotation. The full sequence of export documents is in export documents and flow from Japan.

What we supply from Japan, and what stays with you

Sunsho Trade supplies the ingredient data, label text, lot dates and export documents your Thai filings depend on, while the Or.7 licence, serial numbers, Thai labels, LPIs and the customs entry stay with your company.

We do not act as the importer in Thailand, file Thai FDA applications for you or promise that a product will be approved. Food supplements follow a different route in Thailand: see our guide to Japan-made supplements in Thailand.

💬 Ready to plan a mixed shipment of Japanese food for Thailand? Send the products, quantities and the shelf life you need on arrival. Request a quotation.

Frequently asked questions

1. Can Sunsho Trade hold the Thai import licence or register our products?
No. The Thai FDA licenses an importer with a commercial registration and a place of business in Thailand, and serial numbers are filed by that importer. We supply the ingredient lists, label text, dates and export documents your team needs.

2. Does every Japanese food product need a Thai FDA serial number?
Not every one. Products in Groups 1 to 3 need a serial number before import. Group 4 general food does not, though some general foods are recorded in the Virtual Number System. The group depends on the exact product, so check each line.

3. Can we import Japanese-labelled packs and add a Thai sticker later?
The labelling notification requires the particulars in Thai on food imported for sale, and the checkpoint page asks for a translation where the label is in neither Thai nor English. Confirm with the Thai FDA when and how your Thai label must be applied.

4. What happens to a shipment at the Thai FDA checkpoint?
For each import the importer applies for a License per Invoice. At the checkpoint, officers check the customs entry, invoice or bill of lading, the LPI notice and samples, and look at the label against the labelling rules.

5. Which certificate of origin should we ask for?
Ask for the EPA certificate under the agreement your broker chooses: the Japan–Thailand EPA, AJCEP or RCEP. In Japan these are issued by the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. A local chamber’s ordinary certificate of origin does not support an EPA rate.

Checked on 24 October 2026. Sources: Thai FDA, Food importation (English), en.fda.moph.go.th; Thai FDA Food Division, licensing of food import premises (page dated 8 November 2023) and product licensing for food serial numbers, food.fda.moph.go.th; Thai FDA Import and Export Inspection Division, food imported for sale (page dated 8 July 2025), logistics.fda.moph.go.th; Notification of the Ministry of Public Health No. 450 B.E. 2567 on labelling of prepackaged foods, unofficial English translation, food.fda.moph.go.th; Thai FDA, Notification of the Ministry of Public Health No. 459 B.E. 2568 (title), en.fda.moph.go.th; Department of Livestock Development, import of animals and carcasses under the Animal Epidemics Act B.E. 2558, aqi-new.dld.go.th; Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, EPA certificate of origin issuing service, tokuteishomei.jp; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, ASEAN–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, mofa.go.jp; Japan Customs, status of RCEP entry into force, customs.go.jp.