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Shortly after the release of CBEC product quality management standards [1], Tmall Global announced a new standard on September 10, specifying the prohibited and restricted ingredients used in imported CBEC foods and cosmetics. The standard took effect on September. 17, 2020 [2].
Specifics of the standard are as follows:
1. Food categories subject to the management of prohibited and restricted ingredients
Baby foods |
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Health foods/diet supplements |
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Pet foods |
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2. Details of prohibited and restricted ingredients in foods
Baby foods
Sub-categories | Test items | Law basis |
Infant formula | Lead | |
Aflatoxin M1 | ||
Vanillin | ||
Sodium sulfocyanate | A list of non-edible substances and food additives that may be illegally added to food | |
β-LactaMase | A list of non-edible substances and food additives that may be illegally added to food | |
Melamine | Maximum limit of melamine in food, MOH (Ministry of Health) Notice No. 2011-10 | |
Complementary baby food | Lead | |
Aflatoxin B1 | ||
Cadmium |
Health foods/Diet supplements
Help lose weight | Sibutramine; N-Desmethylsibutramine Hydrochloride; N,N-didesmethyl sibutramine hydrochloride; fenfluramine; ephedrine; phenolphthalein | |
Help lower blood sugar | Tolbutamide, glibenclamide, gliclazide, glipizide, gliquidone, glimepiride, rosiglitazone maleate, repaglinide, pioglitazone hydrochloride, metformin hydrochloride, phenformin hydrochloride, N-butyl biguanide hydrochloride, glibornuride | |
Help improve sleep | Chlordiazepoxide, midazolam maleate, nitrazepam, estazolam, oxazepam, alprazolam, lorazepam, clonazepam, triazolam, diazepam, barbital, phenobarbital, secobarbital, amobarbital chlormezanone, zopiclone, chlorpheniramine, zaleplon, venlafamine, sinomenine, rotundine | |
Help relieve physical fatigue/enhance immune system | Noracetildenafil, acetildenafil, vardenafil, hydroxythiohomo sildenafil, sildenafil, homosildenafil, amino tadalafil, tadalafil, thioaildenafil, pseudovardenafil, norneosildenafil | |
Help lower blood pressure | Atenolol, clonidine hydrochloride, hydrochlorothiazide, captopril, prazosin, reserpine, nifedipine, amlodipine, nitrendipine, nimodipine, nisoldipine, felodipine | |
Help lower hyperlipidemia | Simvastatin, lovastatin, mevastatin, niacin, atenolol, hydrochlorothiazide, captopril, prazosin hydrochloride, reserpine, nifedipine | Determination of 75 chemical drugs illegally added into health food, CFDA No. 2017-138 |
Relieve asthma | Dioxopromethazine | |
Anti blood clotting | Tranexamic acid | |
With antipyretic and analgesic | Aceclofenac |
Pet foods: Compound feed for pets, pet feed additive premix, other pet feed
General requirement | Cadmium | |
Chromium | ||
Lead | ||
Total arsenic | ||
Melamine | ||
Aflatoxin B1 | ||
Fumonisin B1 and fumonisin B2 | ||
Deoxynivalenol | ||
Zearalenone | ||
Ochratoxin | ||
For cats | T-2 and HT-2 | |
Not canned | Salmonella (per 25g) | |
For canned feed | Microorganism |
According to Tmall Global, the imported CBEC foods mentioned above released on the platform shall be safe for use, free of prohibited ingredients or in case of restricted ingredients, in line with the corresponding law basis listed in the tables. If Tmall Global finds or detects the illegal addition of those ingredients in the products, it will punish the merchants in line with the Tmall Global Prohibited Commodity Management Guidelines, depending on the seriousness of circumstances.
In addition, merchants shall ensure that their released products are subject to the management of prohibited and restricted ingredients that have corresponding qualification certificates or authoritative third-party test reports. Tmall Global has the right to adjust the specific requirements of corresponding qualification certificates from time to time per relevant laws, regulations, and platform control needs.
ChemLinked Comment
The new initiative of Tmall Global has put forward stricter requirements for CBEC business on its platform. Imported CBEC products on this platform will still be eligible for registration/filing exemption, but they shall meet Chinese regulations on prohibited and restricted ingredients.
Given that, food enterprises intending to enter China through Tmall Global may require to conduct ingredient review before import. If the product contains the restricted substances listed above, enterprises shall have relevant qualification certificates such as registration license and filing certificate or test report generated by the third-party institutions to prove the safety of foods. Otherwise, there is a risk of punishment by the platform and financial loss.
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