If there is any evidence that a substance can be used as food ingredient?
Generally speaking, it relates to the following aspects to consider: whether the substance has traditional eating habits; Whether it is the new food ingredients approved by NHFPC and the list of termination of examination; Whether it is existed in the list of medicine and food origin, health food raw materials, etc.
Global Foodmate summarized a detailed introduction of several methods for reference.
First of all, we understand the food ingredients, food ingredients have the characteristics of food, meet the nutritional requirements, and are non-toxic, harmless, and do not cause any acute, subacute, chronic or other potential hazards to human health. At present, the materials that can be used as food raw materials in China mainly include common food raw materials (including edible agricultural and sideline products, processed foods obtained SC qualification), new food raw materials, and traditionally both food and Chinese herbal medicine substances (referred to as medicine and food homologous substances), health food raw materials, fungi used in food, food additives, nutritional supplements, etc.
1. Common food ingredients: At present, whether a substance is a food material can be found by looking up existing food standards, letters issued by national regulatory authorities, announcements, and substances mentioned in the catalogue of general-purpose limited standards. It is also possible to find out whether the substance is consumed as a tradition. Eating habits, traditional eating habits can also be used as the basis for judging ordinary food ingredients. Traditional eating habits refer to the history of production and management of shaped or non-shaped packaging foods in the provincial area for more than 30 years, and are not included in the “Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China”.
2. Novel food ingredients: Novel food raw materials refer to the following products without traditional eating habits in China:
(1) animals, plants and microorganisms;
(2) components separated from animals, plants and microorganisms;
(3) foods whose original structure has changed Ingredients;
(4) other newly developed food materials.
3. Traditionally both food and Chinese herbal medicine substances :It is stipulated by the Ministry of Health's Circular on “Further Regulating the Management of Raw Materials for Health Foods” (Wei Fa Jian Fa [2002] No. 51), which contains three appendices. In the appendices list the substances that are both food and medicine, and can be used for health care. A list of items for food. Among them, the substances traditionally are both food and Chinese herbal medicine can be used as raw materials for ordinary foods, and the raw materials for health foods can only be used for health foods and cannot be used for ordinary foods. In addition, at the end of 2016, the Former CFDA also announced the first batch of health food ingredients.
4. Others: Food additives, which are stipulated by GB 2760 and related Supplementary Health and Safety Commission announcements, mainly including the functional categories, scope of use, and usage of food additives. Nutritional fortifiers is stipulated by GB 14880 and related health planning committee supplement announcements. The regulations mainly include the scope of use and usage of food nutrition enhancers.
Through the above information, it can be roughly determined whether the substances to be assessed are edible. Whether it can be used as raw materials for ordinary foods is subject to the official reply. Most of the documents listed above can be viewed or downloaded in the Foodmate official website and forum. In addition, in order to make it easier for food companies to conduct qualitative and quantitative determination of food ingredient compliance, Foodmate has developed a food ingredient compliance ingredient determination system. After the user inputs the product formula ratio, the system can automatically comply with the ingredients. The judgment is made and the basis is given.
Global Foodmate provides professional consultation on food additives and novel food ingredients. For more details or other questions please contact us.
