Regulation Focus
1. On November 17th, 2023, China NHC (National Health Commission) approved the inclusion of nine substances, including Codonopsis pilosula, Cistanche deserticola, Dendrobium officinale, Panax quinquefolius, Astragalus membranaceus, Ganoderma lucidum, Fructus Corni, Gastrodia elata, and Eucommia ulmoides leaves, into the list of substances that are both foods and traditional Chinese medicine.
Previously, these ingredients could only be used in health food products, but now they can also be used in ordinary foods, such as being added to hot pot dishes or beverages.
http://www.nhc.gov.cn/sps/s7892/202311/f0d6ef3033b54333a882e3d009ff49bf.shtml
2. On November 13th, the Food Evaluation Center of China SAMR released the Announcement Regarding the Public Solicitation of Opinions on the "Guidelines for Acceptance of Special Food Registration Applications with Incomplete Information (Draft for Comments)" and the "Service Standards for Acceptance Hall (Draft for Comments)"
http://cfe-samr.org.cn/tzgg/202311/t20231113_5116.html
3. On November 9th, the Food Evaluation Center of China SAMR answered two common questions regarding health food:
Q1: Requirements for scientific evidence in functional claims in health food function assessment reports:
A1: The scientific evidence and related summaries should be complete and standardized. They should not only include the sources, catalogs, and full texts of the scientific evidence but also conduct research and comparison with the technical requirements of the product's formulation and process. Sufficient evidence and summaries should be provided to demonstrate the scientific basis for the product's formulation and its functional claims.
Q2: Requirements for the bibliography summary table in health food function assessment reports:
A2: The bibliography summary table should include the title, first author, publication journal (indicating whether it is a core journal or not), composition of the test subjects, main ingredients, processing methods, animal or human models, grouping, test doses, equivalent human doses (including the basis for dose conversion), evaluation indicators, test results, and conclusions.
https://www.cfe-samr.org.cn/zyyw/bjsp/gxwtjd/
Market focus
On November 15th, the China National Bureau of Statistics released the retail sales data for social consumer goods in October 2023. The total retail sales in October increased by 7.6% compared to the same period last year. The retail sales of grains & oils, food & beverages increased by 4.4%, and 6.2% respectively, compared to the same period last year.
Please note: the information mentioned in this article is sourced from public data.
