China Consults on 26 Food Standards: Dairy, FCM and Nutrient Fortifiers Included

26 national food safety standards are now subject to public consultation including nutrient fortification substances, cheese and determination method of harmful substances in food contact product The final draft of Standard of adhesive used in composite food containers/packing materials is open for public consultation after five years in development.

On May 20, 2019, National Health Commission released consultation drafts of 26 national food safety standards^[1], among which 6 are revision drafts to previous standards. Public feedback shall be submitted prior to July 20 on the website of national food safety standard system (http://bz.cfsa.net.cn/cfsa_aiguo ).

Overview of National Food Safety Standards under Consultation

S/N	Category	National Food Safety Standard for	New/Revision
1	Nutrition and special dietary food	Nutritional Fortification Substance Hydroxocobalamin	New
2		Nutritional Fortification Substance Nicotinamide	New
3		Nutritional Fortification Substance D- Calcium Pantothenate	New
4		Nutritional Fortification Substance Cholecalciferol	New
5		Nutritional Fortification Substance Ferrous Fumarate	New
6		Nutritional Fortification Substance ‎Sodium Iodide	New
7		Nutritional Fortification Substance Chlorohemin	New
8		Nutritional Fortification Substance Zinc Citrate	New
9		Nutritional Fortification Substance Magnesium Hydrogen Phosphate	New
10		Nutritional Fortification Substance Ferrous Lactate	New
11		Nutritional Fortification Substance Cyanocobalamin	New
12		Nutritional Fortification Substance Inositol	New
13	Average food	Processed Cheese	Revision to GB 25192-2010[2]
14		Condensed Milk	Revision to GB 13102-2010[3]
15		Cheese	Revision to GB 5420-2010[4]
16	General standard	Maximum Level of Fungal Toxin in Food	Revision to GB 2761-2017[5]
17	Test method	Determination of Total Acid in Food	New
18		Determination of Azodiformamide in Food	New
19		Determination of Natamycin in Food	New
20		Food Contact Materials and Articles – Determination of Total Migration Level in Food	Revision to GB 31604.8-2016[6]
21		Food Contact Materials and Articles – Determination of Migration Level of 4,4'-Sulfonyldiphenol in Food	New
22		Food Contact Materials and Articles – Determination of Migration Level of Nonyl Phenol (NP) in Food	New
23		Food Contact Materials and Articles – Determination of Migration Level of Primary Aromatic Amines in Food	New
24		Food Contact Materials and Articles – Determination of Migration Level of N-Nitrosamine Compounds in Food	Revision to GB 5009.26-2016
25		Determination of 4-Methylimidazole, 2-Methylimidazole and 1-Methylimidazole in Food	New
26	Food related product	Adhesive Used in Food Container and Packaging Materials	New

Focus 1: Revisions to Dairy Product Standards

Notably, in the above list, there are revision drafts of standards for cheese, processed cheese and condensed milk. Major changes are made to physicochemical indexes, limit of microorganisms and so forth. For example, the physicochemical indexes are removed from the processed cheese standard and added to the cheese standard (see image below).

Focus 2: Revision to Fungal Toxins Criteria

The currently effective GB 2761-2017 Standard for Maximum Level of Fungal Toxins in Food was published two years ago in 2017. The consultation draft revises some indexes of aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin M1, deoxynivalenol, and adds requirements of fumonisins in cereal and its products including corn based infant complementary food.

To be noted, the draft also clarifies calculation method of maximum limit of aflatoxin B1 and M1 in liquid infant formula.

Focus 3: The Much Anticipated Adhesive Standard

Adhesives are widely applied in the production of composite food contact products such as plastic-plastic, aluminum –plastic, paper- aluminum-plastic materials. In the past China did not have designated individual standard for these materials. At present, some raw materials of food contact materials are listed in the appendix of GB 9685 Standard for the Application of Food Contact Product Additives. According to Josh, a specialist of REACH24H Consulting Group, that part would be removed from GB 9685.Formulation of this standard kicked off in June 2014 and took five years to finalize a first draft. It specifies application scope, terms and definitions, basic requirements, criteria of raw materials, sensory quality, physicochemical properties, migration test, labeling as well as base polymers allowed in adhesives.

For English version of the above consultation drafts, please email to ChemLinked for translation service.