China Consults on 24 GB Food Standards, Involving Dairy Products, FCM, FSMP and Food Additives

On October 18, 2023, National Health Commission (NHC) announced to seek public comments on 11 national food safety standards, involving dairy products, food contact materials (FCM), food for special medical purposes (FSMP), canned food, and food additives. Any comments can be submitted online prior to December 15, 2023.

On October 17, 2023, China Food Additives and Ingredients Association (CFAA) released 13 food safety national standard exposure drafts for public comments. The drafts include 9 emulsifier GB standards and 4 sweetener standards. Any comments can be submitted before November 17, 2023.

List of the Proposed GB Standards

Key Changes in Select Standards

Dairy product

GB 25191-×××× Modified Milk

Seeing the application potential of concentrated dairy products like condensed milk and evaporated milk, the competent authority proposes to include the concentrated dairy products as the raw materials of modified milk. Hence, the product definition is revised. Concentrated dairy products used as ingredient should comply with GB 13102 National Food Safety Standard Condensed Dairy Products.

In addition, the draft allows a small quantity of floating fat in modified milk. With the development of breeding capabilities, the fat content in sterilized milk increases nowadays. The fat floating phenomenon that occurs during storage is an inherent characteristic of the dairy product and does not pose any safety hazards.

In terms of labeling, “xx milk” can be used as the product name of modified milk according to the product characteristics, with “modified milk” or “xx modified milk” being indicated as the product category. This requirement is actually sourced from the NHFPC announcement issued in 2014. Additionally, enterprises can use the words like skimmed, partial-skimmed and full to describe the fat content in the product name.

GB 19301-2010 Raw Milk No.1 Amendment Sheet

The Amendment Sheet revises the acidity level from 12-18 to 10-18, and removes the application scope of Holstein Cow, which means the limitation for this indicator applies to all dairy cattle species.

Food products

GB 7098-×××× Canned Food

According to the draft of GB 7098, cereal, bean, nut and seed, as well as egg are newly included as the raw material for canned food. Compared with the current standard, the draft revises the maximum histamine level from 100mg/100g to 200mg/100g, and clarifies that the level only applies to high-histamine canned fish including pacific mackerel, trevally, horse mackerel, mackerel, skipjack tuna, tuna, pacific saury, Spanish mackerel, sardine, and other marine fish with blue skin and red flesh.

Regarding the microorganism limits, the draft adds that the mold count for canned tomato should be less than 30%. In terms of the label, “commercial sterilization” should be indicated on the package.

Food contact materials and articles

GB 4806.1-×××× General Safety Requirements for Food Contact Materials and Articles

As the primary overarching standard for FCM among Chinese legislations, GB 4806.1 applies to all types of FCM. The new version is largely consistent with the first version but includes several minor revisions on definitions, raw material requirements, Limit requirements, labeling requirements and declaration of conformity.

GB ××××-×××× Silicon Rubber Materials and Articles in Contact with Foodstuffs

Given the differences in material characteristics and processing technology between silicone rubber as well as rubber materials and articles, this separate standard has been established, incorporating revisions to GB 4806.11 in various aspects, including application scope, terms and definitions, technical requirements, migration testing, and labeling.

For more detailed interpretation of the two draft standards, please refer to China Consults on Two Key GB Standards for Food Contact Materials.

Food for special medical purposes

GB ××××-×××× Nutritionally Complete Food for Tumour Patients

In China, FSMP products for people aged above 1 year are classified into nutritionally complete foods, specific nutritionally complete foods and nutritionally incomplete foods. Products under this new draft standard are specific nutritionally complete foods. The contents of this draft include scope, terms and definitions, technical requirements, packaging, and labeling requirements.

Key technical requirements:

The draft requires that the energy density of nutritionally complete food for tumour patients should not be less than 1.2 kcal/ml(g). The protein content of the product should not be lower than 0.96g/100kJ (4.0g/100kcal), and the protein must come from high-quality sources, including whole proteins, hydrolysed proteins, and peptides.

Additionally, optional nutrients include arginine, glutamine, leucine, β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate calcium, taurine, L-carnitine, nucleotides, dietary fibre, etc.

Labeling:

As per the draft, the product label should include a description of the product's formulation, nutritional features, protein source and proportion. It should also indicate the product category, intended user population, preparation instructions, product's osmolarity, and recommended storage duration. In addition, the following statements should be labeled as well on the package:

• "Not suitable for individuals other than the target population."

• "Please use under the guidance of a doctor or clinical nutritionist."

• "Not for use in parenteral nutrition support or intravenous injection."

• "Regular monitoring of nutrient deficiencies is recommended."

Food additives

Amendment Lists for 4 sweeteners and 9 emulsifiers consulted by China Food Additive and Auxiliary Materials Association

In practical commercial production, manufacturers need to add anti-caking agent, antioxidant, acidity regulator, etc. to maintain the normal function and stability of these sweeteners and emulsifiers. However, such permission is not mentioned in the current standards. Moreover, the addition of these substances will lead to the non-compliance with the limitation of some current indicators especially the ignition residue limits. Therefore, the competent authority proposes to clarify the usage permission and states that food additive products for commercial use are exempted from the limitation requirements of such indicators.

GB standards for 3 food additives consulted by NHC

The proposed amendments for L-malicacid, polydextrose and chlorophyllincoppercomplex mainly cover physicochemical indicators and testing methods.