China Unveils 32 New GB Standards and 2 Amendment Sheets, Involving Food Contaminants, Additives, Health Food, Dairy Products, and FCM

On September 25, 2025, China's National Health Commission (NHC) and the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) jointly unveiled 32 new national food safety standards and two amendment sheets. These standards span a wide range of areas, including food contaminants, food additives, health food, Foods for Special Medical Purposes (FSMP), dairy products, food contact materials, and more. This article lists name of the standards and their corresponding implementable dates, and key changes in select standards.

List of the GB Standards

Key Changes in Select New/Revised Standards

GB 2762-2025 Maximum Levels of Contaminants in Foods

The new standard replaces the 2022 version and its amendment. It revises the application principles, updates the contaminant limits for dried meat products and packaged drinking water, and makes adjustments to indicator expressions and Appendix A, further strengthening food contaminant control.

GB 17405-2025 Good Manufacturing Practice for Health Food

The update signifies a major shift in the regulatory oversight of health food manufacturing, moving from a baseline hygiene framework to a comprehensive, risk-based food safety management system. Key changes include the introduction of mandatory process validation, stricter environmental controls, enhanced raw material management, and alignment with general food safety standards like GB 14881. The one-year transition period provides manufacturers time to adapt their facilities, processes, and documentation to meet the new requirements.

GB 29922-2025 General Principles for Foods for Special Medical Purposes

The new standard introduces a series of significant updates that refine product categories, adjust technical requirements, and enhance labeling for better clinical application.

• More granular product classification: The previous broad categories of "nutritionally complete foods," "specific nutritionally complete foods," and "Nutritionally incomplete foods" have been significantly detailed.

• Updated technical and nutritional requirements.

• Enhanced labeling for clinical precision: The new standard mandates more detailed information on product labels to guide healthcare professionals and patients.

GB 31662-2025 Nutritionally Complete Foods for Tumors

Recognizing the high prevalence of malnutrition among tumor patients in China, authorities have introduced GB 31662-2025, the first disease-specific FSMP standard. This standard addresses the unique metabolic changes and nutritional needs of this patient population.

As a type of "specific nutritionally complete foods" under the GB 29922 framework, this standard sets forth specific requirements for raw materials, sensory attributes, and the nutritional composition of products intended for tumor patients. It aims to guide the development of formulas that can effectively support tumor treatment and improve patient quality of life.

GB 31604.21-2025 Food Contact Materials and Articles Determination of Migration Amount of Benzoic Acid, Phthalic Acid and Trimellitic Acid

This standard is a revision to GB 31604.21-2016 National Food Safety Standard Food Contact Materials and Articles Determination of Migration Amount of Terephthalic Acid. Compared with the 2016 version, GB 31604.21-2025 revises the standard name and adjusts the application scope, increasing the number of target substances from one to seven and clarifying four major categories of food contact materials and articles.

GB 31604.64-2025 Food Contact Materials and Articles Determination of Migration Amount of Citric Acid Esters and Sebacate Compounds

This is a new national food safety standard, targeting the determination of migration amounts of two citric acid esters and four sebacate compounds in certain food contact materials and articles.

GB 4806.10-2025 Paints and Coatings in Food Contact Materials and Articles

Key updates of this standard include the following:

• GB 4806.10-2025 removes the statement "The standard does not apply to paper paintings and coatings" from the application scope.

• The basic raw materials for food contact paintings and coatings will continue to be primarily managed through polymers, with monomers and other starting substances managed as supplementary.

• Considering the actual usage conditions of drinking utensils such as thermos cups, the feasibility of high-temperature testing operations, and market sampling inspection results, this revision adjusts the conditions for the migration tests of potassium permanganate consumption and heavy metals (measured as Pb).

• Special requirements have been added for the surface coatings of metal cans intended for contact with acidic foods (including can bodies, lids, pull tabs, etc.) during total migration testing.

GB 4806.16-2025 Silicone Rubber Materials and Products for Food Contact Uses

The requirements for silicone rubber materials and products were previously specified in GB 4806.11-2016 Rubber Materials and Products for Food Contact Uses. To better control the safety risks associated with silicone rubber, the NHC revised these requirements and extracted them from GB 4806.11 to generate an independent new standard GB 4806.16-2025.

Compared with the requirements for silicone rubber in GB 4806.11-2016, GB 4806.16-2025 standardizes the test conditions for the consumption of potassium permanganate and the migration of heavy metals (measured as Pb) to 60°C for 2 hours. Additionally, for volatile substances such as cyclic siloxane oligomers, a new section titled "Volatile Substances" has been added, along with its corresponding testing method, "Appendix B Determination of Volatile Substances."

GB 19301-2010 National Food Safety Standard Raw Milk (No.2 Amendment Sheet)

The amendment revises the physicochemical indicator for goat milk. Specifically:

• Previously, the acidity of goat milk was set at 6–13 °T, measured according to GB 5413.34.

• The amendment changes the requirement to 8–20 °T, now measured according to GB 5009.239.

GB 25190-2010 National Food Safety Standard Sterilized Milk (No.2 Amendment Sheet)

The amendment revises the physicochemical indicator requirements for acidity in sterilized milk. Specifically, the acidity limits for cow milk are adjusted from 12–18 °T to 10–18 °T, and for goat milk from 6–13 °T to 8–20 °T. In addition, the test method reference has been updated from GB 5413.34 to GB 5009.239.

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