In recent years, with the continuous improvement of people's living standards, there has been an increasing emphasis on personal and family health. At this time, the concept of novel food ingredients has gradually caught the public's attention. So what exactly are novel food ingredients and how are they different from other food? Foodmate has compiled relevant information for reference.

What is a novel food ingredient?

On July 2, 2007, the former Ministry of Health formulated and issued the "New Resource Food Management Measures", which came into effect on December 1 2007. On October 1, 2013, the former National Health and Family Planning Commission revised and implemented the "Novel Food ingredients Safety Review and Management Measures" to amend "new resource food" to "Novel food ingredient" and modify its definition. Novel food ingredients refer to the following items that have no traditional eating habits in China:

1) Animals, plants, and microorganisms;

2) Ingredients separated from animals, plants and microorganisms;

3) Food ingredients whose original structure has changed, and other newly developed food ingredients.

The term "traditional dietary habits" refers to a certain food that has been produced and sold as standardized or non-standardized packaged food in a provincial jurisdiction for over 30 years, and it is not included in the "Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China". At the same time, this regulation stipulates that new food ingredients should comply with the provisions of the Food Safety Law, relevant regulations, rules, and standards, and should not cause any acute, subacute, chronic, or other potential health hazards to the human body.

The differences from traditional food are as follows:

1. Novel food ingredients refer to those without established consumption habits, which were not commonly consumed in the past or not considered as food.

2. The sale of novel food ingredients requires filing an application with the health department and obtaining approval before they can be marketed.

3. Novel food ingredients often have specified limits on consumption and target consumers. According to the "Management Measures for Safety Assessment of Novel Food Ingredients," food products containing novel food ingredients should have labels that comply with national laws, regulations, food safety standards, and requirements specified by the National Health Commission. The use of novel food ingredients must adhere to the specified requirements, and any restrictions on consumption and unsuitable population groups should be indicated as required by the relevant announcements.

China's first batch of novel food ingredients (formerly known as new resource food) began to be approved as early as 2004. Up to now, there are over 200 different types that have undergone a complex review process and safety certification.

The differences from health food are as follows:

1. Health food refers to food that has specific health functions, and when applying for approval, it must clearly indicate which health function it has and must be labeled with the health function and limitations on the product packaging (known as the "blue cap"). On the other hand, dietary supplements do not necessarily have specific health function claims on the product packaging or labeling.

2. Health food and dietary supplements have different target audiences. Health food is suitable for general consumption by any population, while dietary supplements are intended for specific groups of people.

What are the new food ingredients?

If you want to know whether a certain ingredient has been approved as a new food ingredient, or if you want to view the currently approved, terminated, or open for public comments new food ingredients, you can search through the “Public Query System for Administrative Licensing of the National Health Commission”.

In this query system, there are separate sections for the pre-2007 approved new resource foods, the post-2007 approved new food ingredient announcement directory, and the terminated new food ingredient review directory. You can access the query system through the following link: https://slps.jdzx.net.cn/xwfb/gzcx/PassFileQuery.jsp

Is it necessary for imported new food ingredients to be allowed for production or sale in the country of origin?

The answer is Yes. According to Article 8 of the "Regulations on Declaration and Acceptance of New Food Ingredients": When applying for the import of new food ingredients, in addition to the materials specified in Article 7, the following materials should also be submitted:

(1) Certificate or documentation from the relevant department or organization of the country (region) of export, stating that the product is allowed for production or sale in that country (region).

(2) Certificate or documentation from the relevant organization or institution in the country (region) where the production enterprise of the imported new food ingredient is located, verifying the examination or certification of the production enterprise.

This regulation specifically regulates imported ingredients, but does not provide explicit guidelines for the use of the products.

Is it necessary to fill in the registration number of overseas production enterprises in China for the import declaration of new food ingredients or food products containing new food ingredients?

The answer is Yes. For food products shipped to China starting from January 1, 2022, when making the import declaration, the registration number of the overseas production enterprise should be specified in the "Overseas Production Manufacture Registration Certificate" column under the "Product Qualification" section on the customs declaration form (with permit category code 519). Failure to provide the required information in the specified format will result in the customs not accepting the declaration.