Labelling Requirements for Matcha Products
From the perspective of someone making and selling a product.
Matcha and powdered green tea are distinct
Matcha comes from tencha, grown under shade so theanine does not convert into astringent catechins, then stone-milled.
Powdered green tea is ground sencha or similar, without shading. Different cost, different flavour.
The ingredient list must state what was actually used.
"Contains matcha" implies no quantity
Phrases like made with matcha confirm presence only. A trace amount qualifies.
Buyers therefore rely on the ingredient order, which runs by weight.
Mandatory nutrition items
For packaged foods: energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, salt equivalent. The order is prescribed.
Carbohydrate subdivisions are optional, with one rule: declaring either sugar or dietary fibre requires declaring both. Listing only sugars as a subdivision of carbohydrate is permitted.
Sweetener declarations
Aspartame requires a statement that the product contains a phenylalanine compound.
High-intensity sweeteners deliver sweetness at very low inclusion — aspartame about 200×, acesulfame K about 200×, sucralose about 600× relative to sugar.
Function names
Colouring, antioxidants, and sweeteners require a function name alongside the substance.
"Antioxidant (vitamin C)" distinguishes that use from nutritional fortification.
Dextrin is not an additive
Produced by breaking down starch, it is classified as a food ingredient. It appears in the ingredient list but not among additives.
Claiming "no additives"
Specify what is excluded. "No colouring or preservatives" avoids the ambiguity of an unqualified claim.
Origin
Not mandatory, and worth including where possible.
Uji and Kyoto function as brand marks internationally, and Japanese green tea exported to the US carries a unit price roughly five times that of Chinese green tea, with origin brand penetration among the cited reasons.
For export
Destination language, allergen rules, residue limits — all differ.
Matcha is consumed as whole ground leaf, so residue limits apply to the leaf itself rather than to an infusion. Conditions are correspondingly stricter.
Figures reflect statistics as of 2025.
