In the current market, many sub-packaged foods are widely welcomed by consumers for their convenience. However, food sub-packaging in China is under tight control. What is food sub-packaging? Which foods are allowed to be sub-packaged in China? What are the labeling requirements for sub-packaged food? These are all issues that food manufacturers and sales enterprises need to pay attention to. This article will analyze these issues in detail, hoping to provide valuable reference and help for related enterprises.

1. What is Food Sub-packaging?

There is no clear definition of food sub-packaging in the existing laws, administrative rules and regulations, and reference can be made to the former Ministry of Health's approval documents and draft regulations on packaging:

• According to the Reply on Issues related to the Supervision and Management of Food Sub-Packaging and Sub-Packaged Foods issued by former MOH, foods that are simply packaged or added with a small amount of other ingredients belong to sub-packaged foods.It should be noted that adding a small amount of other ingredients should not change the property of the processed food.

  
  

• The revised note to the Measures for Administration of Food Production License (exposure draft) 2014 stipulates that food sub-packaging should be a behavior that makes it easier for the public to consume from large packaging to small packaging.It refers to the process of replacing pre-packaged foods that are difficult to transport or directly put on the market with small packages after certain process controls, without affecting product quality.

  
  

• The Implementation Regulations for Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China (Draft for Review) published in 2016 stipulates that "Food Sub-packaging refers to the act of food producers and operators who, under certain process controls and without affecting food safety, divide large packaged food into smaller portions and package them into smaller pre-packaged food that are directly put into the market. In the food business process, if large packaged food is sold in small quantities and no longer processed into pre-packaged food, it does not belong to food packaging."

Although the latter two items have been removed from the officially released documents, the current understanding is still based on the two drafts. Global Foodmate believes that food sub-packaging is the production behavior of replacing large packaged food with smaller pre-packaged food through certain process control, without affecting food quality.

2. Qualification for Food Sub-packaging Enterprises

Article 9 of the General Rules for Examination of Food Production License (2022 Edition) specifies the examination requirements for application materials for food production licenses: "The categories of food and food additives, category number, category name, variety details and remarks in the product information table shall be entered in compliance with the relevant requirements of the Classification Catalogue of Food Production License. In the case of sub-package for food production, it shall be indicated after the corresponding category details." Therefore, food sub-packaging enterprises should obtain a food production license in accordance with the law before food sub-packaging.

3. Foods that can be Sub-packaged

According to the regulations of the various food production license review details, "Q&A on Food Quality and Safety Market Access System (II)", "Letter of Reply on Issues Concerning the Subpackage of Food Additives," in conjunction with the "Announcement of the State Administration for Market Regulation on Revising and Announcing the Categorization Catalogue of Food Production Licenses," the foods that can be sub-repackaged include: 0102 Milled rice, 0104 Other processed grain products (Cereal processed products, Grain milling products), 0201 Edible vegetable oil, 0303 Monosidum L-glutanate, 0702 Other instant foods (pure cereal products), 1301 Confectioneries, 1302 Chocolate and chocolate products, 1303 Chocolate with cocoa butter alternatives and chocolate products with cocoa butter alternatives, 1401 Tea (excluding Border-sale tea), 1404 Herbal tea, 1602 Dried vegetable products, 1603 Edible fungus products, 1701 Preserved fruits, 1702 Fruit products, 1801 Roasted seeds and nuts, 2002 Roasted coffee, 2101 Sugar, 2201 Dried aquatic products, 2202 Saline aquatic products, 2205 Cooked aquatic products (only dried products are allowed to be sub-packaged), 2301 Starch and starch products (Starch), 2302 Corn Syrup Solids, 2501 Bean products (only Yuba is allowed to be sub-packaged), 2603 Bee pollen.

It is recommended to consult local regulatory authorities on whether food additives are allowed to be sub-packaged.

4. Labeling Requirements for Subpackaged Foods

4.1 Labeling of Sub-packaging Enterprise Information

The Administration of Food Labels stipulate as for a sub-packaged food, the name and address of the sub-packaging enterprise shall be declared, and the term “sub-packaged” shall also be stated.

4.2 Appellation of Origin

Questions and answers of General Standard for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (GB7718-2011,Revised edition) makes it clear that "production facility" refers to the actual production address of the food. Therefore, the production facility of the sub-packaging food is the address of the sub-packaging.

National Food Safety Standard-General Standard for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (Draft for Comments) issued on June 27, 2024 stipulates that imported prepackaged foods should be labeled with the country (region) of origin. Goods that are entirely obtained within a country (region) are considered to have the country (region) of origin as that country (region). Goods that involve production in two or more countries (regions) are considered to have the country (region) of origin as the country (region) where the last substantial transformation occurred. If the country or region of bottling or sub-packaging is different from the country of origin, the country or region of bottling or sub-packaging should also be indicated. It is also possible to indicate the source or production country or region of the raw materials or ingredients.

Therefore, it is recommended that the origin of imported sub-packaging food portions be labeled as follows:

Country/Region of Origin: XX

Sub-packaging Company: XXX

Production Facility: XXX (Address of Sub-packaging)

4.3 Labeling of production date and shelf life

• Reply of Ministry of Health on Relevant Issues of Food Subpackage Processing and Subpackage Food Supervision Management: For sub-packaged foods that are simply sub-packaged or sub-packaged after adding a small amount of other ingredients, the production date should be marked according to the sub-packaging date; the shelf life of the product should be marked according to the original shelf life of the packaged food. If the shelf life of the added ingredients is shorter than that of the packaged food, then the shelf life of the sub-packaged product should be marked according to the original shelf life of the added ingredients.

•  Reply about Issues Related to Labeling of Shelf Life of Sub-packaged Products for Food Production Enterprises by Shanghai Municipal Food and Drug Administration: Food sub-packaging enterprises that have obtained a food production license are a type of food production enterprise. As the producers and responsible parties for sub-packaged foods, they can determine a new shelf life based on factors such as food raw and auxiliary materials, production processes, packaging forms, and storage conditions, and bear the responsibility for food quality and safety within the finally determined shelf life. If food sub-packaging enterprises alter the original shelf life of a product, they should conduct relevant shelf life tests in conjunction with factors such as the original product's shelf life, packaging form, and storage conditions, and keep related records. It is not allowed to change the original shelf life of the product without confirmation from relevant test data.

• Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Food Labels (Draft for Comments) issued on June 28, 2024: Prepackaged foods produced by sub-packaging should indicate the expiration date based on the shelf life of the sub-packaged prepackaged food.

Therefore, the production date of sub-packaged food should be marked according to the sub-packaging date. If the repacking is purely for sub-packaging, the shelf life of the sub-packaged food should be marked according to the original shelf life. If the sub-packaged food contains a small amount of other ingredients, and the shelf life of the added ingredients is shorter than that of the prepacked food, it should be marked according to the original shelf life of the added ingredients. If a company wishes to change the shelf life, it must conduct relevant shelf life tests to confirm the test data and keep the relevant records; otherwise, it is not allowed to change the original shelf life of the product.

4.4 Labeling of Ingredients

Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Food Labels (Draft for Comments) issued on June 28, 2024, proposed to stipulate that the ingredient list of the sub-packaged food should indicate the ingredients of the food that has been sub-packaged. The word "sub-packaged" should be indicated on the label of the sub-packaged food.

Summary

The above is a compilation of common questions and answers about food sub-packaging by Global Foodmate. We hope this article can provide practical guidance and help for food sub-packaging enterprises. If you have any questions or need further advice on food packaging, please feel free to give us feedback via global_info@foodmate.net. We look forward to communicating and discussing with you and jointly promoting the healthy development of the food industry.