China Proposes First Recommended National Standard for Probiotics as Health Food Raw Materials

On March 30, 2026, China's National Technical Committee for Special Foods Standardization released the draft of a new recommended national standard, Health Food Raw Materials - Probiotics, for public consultation. This marks the first national standard specifically regulating probiotics used as raw materials in health foods, aiming to establish a comprehensive framework covering everything from strain identification to post-market surveillance. The draft sets higher requirements for scientific evidence, production control, and safety evaluation, signaling a major shift towards a more regulated and science-driven industry.