China Consults on Five GB Food Standards, Involving Milk Powder and Food Additives

On May 6, 2023, CFSA announced to seek public comments on five national food safety standards (GB standards), involving milk powder, food additive, food nutritional fortifier, and food testing method. Any comments can be submitted online prior to June 30. Key points revealed by the five drafts are as follows:

1. Updated version of GB 19644 Milk Powder and Formulated Milk Powder 

• Standard name

Revises the standard name as “Milk Powder and Formulated Milk Powder” instead of the previous “Milk Powder”.

• Terms and definitions

a. Expands the scope of “milk powder” and “formulated milk powder” from cow and goat milk to milk from other species.

b. Emphasizes the content of milk solids from main ingredients shall not be less than 70%. Main ingredients refer to raw milk from single species and/or its whole milk (or skimmed and partially skimmed milk) processed products.

• Sensory requirements

Revises the requirements for color, odor and testing method of milk powder and formulated milk powder.

• Physicochemical requirements

a. Changes the unit of protein, fat, and moisture from "%" to "g/100g".

b. Updates the testing method of fat as per GB 5009.6 Determination of Fat in Foods and the testing method of reconstituted milk acidity as per GB 5009.239 Determination of Acidity in Foods.

c. Adds the physicochemical requirements for yak milk powder, camel milk powder, donkey milk powder, horse milk powder, as well as corresponding formulated milk powders.

• Microbial limit

a. Clarifies that pathogen limit shall conform to GB 29921 Pathogen Limit in Prepackaged Foods.

b. Removes the requirements for staphylococcus aureus and salmonella.

c. Adds the note "For products that added with live bacteria, the number of live bacteria in the final products shall be ≥10⁶ CFU/g".

• Labeling

a. Specifies that products shall be labeled as "milk powder" or "formulated milk powder."

b. Clarifies that (formulated) cow milk powder can be labeled as "(formulated) dairy powder" or "(formulated) milk powder," while others need to be labeled with specific categories such as "(formulated) goat milk powder" or "(formulated) goat dairy powder."

2. Updated version of GB 31630 Food Additive Polyvinyl Alcohol 

• Adds the solubility identification method for polyvinyl alcohol.

• Revises the determination method for methanol and methyl acetate.

• Adds the use of Ubbelohde-type capillary viscometer into the viscosity testing method.

• Adds the testing method for the lead content.

3. Updated version of GB 5009.5 Determination of Protein in Food

• Updates the sampling volume and concentration of the standard titration solution in Method I Kjeldahl Nitrogen Determination.

• Adds the storage conditions and duration of standard solutions and colorants in Method II Spectrophotometry.

• Revises the application scope and detection limit of Method III Combustion.

• Adds Appendix B combustion method correction curve.

• Revises the expression of analysis results and protein conversion coefficient table in Appendix C.

4. Amendment sheet to GB 1886.350 Food Additive Nitrous Oxide 

• Changes the unit in Table 2 from "moisture content/(μL/L)" to "moisture content/(mL/L)".

5. Newly proposed GB standard for food nutrition fortification substance (6S)-5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid, glucosamine salt 

• Application scope: food nutrition fortification substance (6S)-5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid, glucosamine salt prepared from folic acid through processes such as methylation, salinization, crystallization, and freeze-drying.

• Sensory requirements: color, odor, state and testing method.

• Physicochemical requirements: key indicators, impurity limits and heavy metal limits.

• Attached testing methods.