Evolution of New Food Raw Material Approval in China

The declaration and approval of new food raw materials in China can be roughly divided into three stages.

The first stage: 1983-1997, the exploration stage. In the ten years from 1987 to 1997 alone, the former Ministry of Health approved 312 new resource foods, all of which were finished products, including products such as Shaolin Cola and Shenbao Cola, which have now withdrawn from the market.

The second stage, from 1998 to 2013, is the stage of new resource foods. During this period, a total of 105 new resource foods have been approved, of which after 2007, they are mainly specific food ingredients.

The third stage, from 2014 to present, is the stage of new food raw materials. Since the official implementation of the "New Food Raw Material Safety Act" in October 2013, the development of new food raw materials has become more focused, half of them are lipids and carbohydrates.

Looking back at the declarations of the three stages, the number of declarations in the first and second stages is relatively large, mainly because the "New Resource Food Act" changed the approval of finished products before 2007 to the approval of raw materials or ingredients, and simplified the approval procedures. Therefore, Enterprises are more enthusiastic about the development of new resource food. 2013-2014 is the demarcation point of the second and third phases. In 2013, a total of 71 items were declared, which was the peak of the second phase of declarations. In 2014, only 2 items were declared. According to analysis, before the replacement of Act and Regulations, enterprises often follow the old management in order to avoid a series of impacts caused by policy changes, there is a certain period of adaptation in the early stage of the implementation of the new regulations, and conservative declaration is reasonable.