This Act is enacted to enhance the management and supervision of matters relating to health food, protect the health of the people of the republic and safeguard the rights and interests of consumers. Matters not addressed herein shall be governed by other applicable laws.

For the purposes of this Act, the term "health food" shall denote food with health care effects, having been labeled or advertised with such effects.
The term “health care effects” shall mean an effect that has been scientifically proven to be capable of improving people’s health, and decreasing the harms and risks of diseases. However, it is not a medical treatment aimed at treating or remedying human diseases; such “health care effects” shall be announced by the central competent authority.

A health food permit shall be issued only if one of the following requirements is met under the purpose of this Act.
1. Duly supported by scientific assessment of the safety and and health care effects of food that they are harmless and carry definite, certain health care effects; if current technology cannot identify ingredients contributing to such effects, the ingredients with the relevant health care effects and supporting literature shall be enumerated and provided to the central competent authority for evaluation and verification.
2. Ingredients conforming to the Health Food Specification Standards set by the central competent authority.
The methods by which health care effects and safety are assessed, and by which standards are determined in the preceding paragraph shall be determined by the central competent authority. If the central competent authority has not yet determined a method to assess the health care effects, a method submitted by academics shall be reviewed and approved by the central competent authority.

The health care effects of health food shall be described in any of the following ways:
1. claiming the effect of preventing or alleviating the illness relating to nutrients when deficient in the human body if intake of the health food can make up said nutrients;
2. claiming the impact on human physiological structure and functions by the specified nutrients or specific ingredients contained in a health food or the food itself after the health food has been taken;
3. furnishing the scientific evidence to support the claim that the health food can maintain or affect human physiological structure and functions; and/or
4. describing the general advantages of taking the health food.

For the purposes of this Act, the term "competent authority" shall mean the Ministry of Health and Welfare at the central level, the municipal governments at the municipality, and the county/city governments at the county/city level.