China SAMR Consults on New Health Food Function Claim

On April 24, 2025, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) of China opened a public consultation on a draft amendment to China's Health Function Catalogue, proposing to add "help maintain joint health" as a permitted claim for qualified health foods. Interested parties are invited to submit comments via email to [email protected] by June 2, 2025.

1. The proposed new function claim 

SAMR's draft would expand the current list of 24 approved non-nutrient supplement health claims to include "help maintain joint health".

2. Background of the proposal 

Bones and joints are structures in the body that provide movement and mechanical support. Health supplements that help maintain joint health have a wide consumer base. Globally, there is a general scientific consensus on health claims related to joint health. For example, in the United States, dietary supplements are allowed to claim benefits for bone and joint health, as well as joint flexibility and mobility, and a large number of such products have already been launched on the market.

Joints and bones play a vital role in mobility and structural support, and there is strong consumer interest in supplements targeting joint wellness. Internationally, many jurisdictions already permit similar claims—for example, U.S. dietary supplements may assert benefits for bone and joint health, flexibility and mobility, and a wide array of such products are on sale.

Under the Administrative Measures for the Catalogues of Health Food Raw Materials and Health Functions, SAMR may commission qualified technical institutions to research new function claims. Drawing on that authority, SAMR convened experts from industry associations and research bodies to evaluate joint-health functions, leading to this consultation draft.

3. Technical guideline for trial and evaluation 

This proposal also includes a technical guideline for trials and evaluation of the health function of helping maintain joint health, as well as a document outlining the evaluation trial items, trial principles, and result determination.

For product applications, research must be conducted in strict compliance with the Administrative Measures for the Registration and Filing of Health Foods, the Implementation Rules for the Technical Evaluation of New Functions and Products of Health Foods (Trial), and other relevant regulations. Applicants may adopt the trial indicators recommended in the guideline or propose research designs that extend beyond current trial principles. However, deviations must be scientifically justified with robust evidence to demonstrate validity and rationality. In addition, the Technical Guidelines for Functional Testing and Evaluation of Health Foods (2023 Edition) sets out the fundamental technical requirements for functional testing and evaluation of health foods, which shall serve as the basis for conducting trials and evaluations related to the proposed function.

It is explicitly required that the function of "helping maintain joint health" must be validated through human consumption trials. For products meeting all of the following criteria, animal trials may be waived if:

1. Ingredients have a well-documented history of safe consumption;

2. Daily intake aligns with established dosage ranges from domestic and international functional studies;

3. Mechanisms of action are supported by scientific literature.

In such cases, human trials may proceed directly upon submission of sufficient supporting evidence. Conversely, products utilizing ingredients with limited consumption history, unvalidated daily intake levels, or insufficient mechanistic evidence must undergo animal trials prior to human testing.