ZMUni Compliance Centre

China Food Regulatory Updates

On January 9, 2024, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) drafted the "Administrative Measures for Supervision and Administration of Delegated Production of Food (Draft for Comments)" and is now soliciting public opinions.

On January 9, 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China publicly solicited opinions on the proposed amendment to the Mandatory National Standard No. 2, "Restrictive Packaging Requirements for Food and Cosmetics."

On January 12, 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China issued Announcement No. 744, approving methylococcus capsulatus cell protein as a new feed ingredient, pancreatin (from porcine pancreas), Potassium magnesium sulfate, stevia extract (with chlorogenic acid and its analogues as active ingredients) as new feed additives, expanding the scope of application for certain feed additive varieties, and making supplements and revisions to the "Catalog of Feed Ingredients" and "Catalog of Feed Additive Varieties." Read More.

On January 13, 2024, China SAMR issued a notice regarding the implementation of the "Management Regulations for the List of Non-Food Substances that May Be Added to Food." The notice includes 13 provisions for the management of the list of non-food substances that may be added to food.

On January 15, 2024, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Developing the Silver Economy and Improving the Well-being of the Elderly," which proposed 26 measures. Article 14 specifically emphasizes strengthening the innovation of elderly products and encouraging the research and development of health food and special medical formula food suitable for the chewing, swallowing, and nutritional requirements of the elderly.

On January 19, 2024, the National Health Commission (NHC) of China released the "General Principles for Labels of Prepackaged Foods" (Draft for Comments), which is open for public feedback until February 29, 2024. The draft introduces significant changes compared to the current version, including the definition of prepackaged foods, composite ingredients, ingredient emphasis and quantitative labeling, production date, shelf life and storage period, allergenic substances, country of origin and import country, food claims, numerical labeling, text requirements, and the determination of "label defects." Read More.

On January 19, 2024, China NHC issued the "General Principles for Special Medical Purpose Formula Foods" (Draft for Comments), which is open for public feedback until February 29, 2024. The draft primarily revises the product categories, technical requirements, and labeling aspects.

On January 19, 2024, China SAMR issued a notice soliciting opinions on the "Draft Amendment to the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China." It proposes to include liquid infant formula in the registration management.

According to the "Announcement of the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council on the 2024 Tariff Adjustment Plan" (Announcement No. 10 of the Tariff Commission, 2023), starting from January 1, 2024, adjustments have been made to the import and export tariffs of certain goods. This adjustment does not apply to cosmetics and food products.

International Food Regulatory Updates

The EU

Feed Additives

Novel Food

On January 22, 2024, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a scientific opinion on the safety of isomaltulose syrup (dried) as a novel food. EFSA concluded that isomaltulose syrup (dried) is safe for consumption, similar to sucrose.

On January 22, 2024, EFSA issued a scientific opinion on the notification of a traditional food from a third country, namely dried seeds and flour thereof of Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc. (Bambara groundnut). EFSA concluded that the composition and usage history of the traditional food do not raise safety concerns.

Others

On January 15, 2024, the European Commission issued Regulation 2024/234, amending Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008, by removing eight substances, including 2-Phenylpent-2-enal, from the list of flavorings.

On January 25, 2024, the European Commission published Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/347, amending Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives, with adjustments to the use of additives in alcoholic beverages. The regulation includes the following changes:

(1) Terminology and definitions: Replacing the term "alcoholic strength by volume" with "alcohol by volume."

(2) Category names: Introducing new categories such as wine and other products, spirits, aromatized wine products, and other alcoholic beverages (including mixtures of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as other alcoholic beverages with an alcohol by volume below 15% based on distilled alcohol).

(3) Quinoline Yellow, Sunset Yellow, and Erythrosine should not be authorized for use in "vodka" as an alcoholic beverage.

(4) This implementing regulation will enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and will be directly applicable to all member states.

South Korea

On January 24, 2024, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) of South Korea issued Notice No. 2024-4, which established guidelines for setting residue limits of pesticides and veterinary drugs in food. The main contents of the notice are as follows:

• Definition of terms such as "residue limit standards," "crop residue test materials," and "animal residue test materials."
• Classification of the application of residue limit standards for pesticides and veterinary drugs in imported food and domestically produced food in South Korea.
• Specification of the application and amendment procedures for setting residue limit standards, submission of scientific materials, and the responsible authority for official management.

On January 12, 2024, the MFDS of South Korea amended certain provisions of the "Regulations on the Labeling and Advertising of Foods and Related Laws." The main amendments include the size and placement of information such as food product names, nutritional components, and sodium content on food labels. This is to ensure that consumers can easily identify the information and ensure readability by preventing text overlap or obstruction by images.

Thailand

On January 4, 2024, the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand issued a notification amending the maximum daily intake standards for vitamins and minerals in dietary supplements, which will come into effect 180 days after the date of publication. The main contents of the notification are as follows:

• Increase in the maximum daily intake of two vitamins and minerals, including vitamin D.
• Products manufactured according to the standards in effect before the notification can continue to be sold for a period not exceeding three years.

Russia

On January 10, 2024, the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission approved the amendments to the list of adopted standards of the Technical Regulation "Safety of Food Additives, Flavors, and Processing Aids," which will come into effect on February 27, 2024. The amendments include the addition of eight standards (five interstate standards of the Commonwealth of Independent States and three national standards of the Russian Federation) referenced in the technical regulation. These standards cover technical specifications for food additives and enzyme preparations. Additionally, the list of standards related to product testing and sampling requirements has been supplemented with 53 standards (as the basis for compliance of products). The content of these standards includes methods for determining the content of main substances in food additives, specifying safety criteria for flavors and enzyme preparations, and testing the content of food additives in various food products.

Sources: Official regulatory authorities in respective countries/regions.