Highlight: amino acids in foods for special dietary uses, food safety standard for food flavors, registration of food for special medical purposes, infant formula liquid milk
1. On November 1, 2023, the State Administration for Market (SAMR) of China issued the "Guidelines for the Examination of Production Licenses for Infant Formula Liquid Milk (Consultation Draft)". The draft guidelines focus on the characteristics of liquid infant formula products and provide provisions in several key areas. Firstly, there are strict requirements for raw materials and ingredients. Secondly, it specifies the production processes and dynamic control requirements for clean operation areas. Thirdly, there are stringent requirements for sterilization equipment and the verification of sterilization effectiveness. Finally, there are strict requirements for factory inspections before the products are released for sale.
2. On November 7, 2023, the National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center issued a public consultation on the draft of the National Food Safety Standard for Food Flavors(GB 29938). For more information, refer to ZMUni News.
3. On November 8, 2023, China SAMR published the "General Rules for the Examination of Food Business Licenses (Consultation Draft)".
4. On November 13, 2023, the Food Evaluation Center of China SAMR released 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)".
5. On November 17th, 2023, China National Health Commission (NHC) 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.
6. On November 23, 2023, the second amendment draft of the national standard GB 23350-2021 "Requirements for Restricting Excessive Packaging of Goods - Food and Cosmetics" was released and sought public opinions. Previous discussions on the second amendment draft of the excessive packaging of goods mainly focused on the number of packaging layers, total packaging weight, and the k value for tea.
7. On November 28, 2023, China SAMR issued the "Administrative Measures for the Registration of Food for Special Medical Purposes" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"), which will be implemented from January 1, 2024. The previous version was published on March 7, 2016, and has been simultaneously abolished. For more information, refer to ZMUni News.
8. On November 29, 2023, China NHC announced the "Administrative Measures for Food Safety Standards," which will come into effect on December 1, 2023.
9. On November 30, 2023, China NHC and SAMR jointly issued an announcement regarding the management of amino acids in foods for special dietary uses. According to this announcement, more than 20 amino acids are included in the national food safety standards for infant formula foods, special medical purpose infant formula foods, sports nutrition foods, and other foods that should be treated as food nutrient fortifiers. The purpose of this announcement is to supplement and enhance the quality specifications, inspection methods, and other requirements for the amino acids mentioned in the aforementioned food safety standards. It clarifies that when amino acids are used as food additives that are not considered food nutrient fortifiers, they should be used in accordance with the "National Food Safety Standard for the Use of Food Additives" (GB 2760). In such cases, the quality specifications should adhere to the corresponding standards for food additive quality specifications. This policy is highly beneficial for the application of Foods for Special Dietary Uses that rely on amino acids as a source of protein.
10. According to the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), in October 2023, a total of 246 batches of food were found to be non-compliant with safety and hygiene requirements during customs supervision at ports and were not allowed to enter the country. The highest number of rejected foods came from Japan, followed by China Taiwan, and Belgium.
