On August 1, 2025, the National Health Commission publicly solicited opinions on the National Food Safety Standard General Principles for Sports Nutrition Food (GB 24154), which was the second public solicitation of opinions since the release of the current GB 24154 in 2015. The types of amino acids allowed for use in this solicitation of opinions far exceed the current standard. If the standard are implemented, it will bring more opportunities and challenges to the foods for special dietary uses industry including sports nutrition food and the amino acid industry. The standards for soliciting opinions during the same period also include food safety standards for alanine, glycine and arginine. To help enterprises better grasp policy trends, Antion conducted a review and analysis of the impact and significance of the draft for comments for reference.
PART.1 Increase in the types of amino acids allowed for use in sports nutrition food
The types of amino acids allowed for use in the draft for comments are significantly more than those in the current standard and the first draft, and both the total number and types of amino acids allowed for use in each product category are showing a surge trend. The total number has increased from 4 to 12, with the addition of 8 amino acids including citrulline, arginine, tryptophan, lysine, phenylalanine, threonine, histidine and methionine.
PART.2 The property of amino acids allowed for use in sports nutrition foods are nutritional fortification substance
In November 2023, the National Health Commission issued the Announcement on the Management of Amino Acids in Foods for Special Dietary Uses, clarifying that amino acids used in foods for special dietary uses such as sports nutrition food, food for special medical purpose and infant and young children formula food should be managed as food nutritional fortification substances. A total of 22 types of amino acids are approved for use (including 36 compound sources, and amino acids in their free state, aqueous or non-aqueous state, as well as hydrochloric acid compounds, sodium salts and potassium salts can also be used food for special medical purpose). Quality specifications and testing methods are also specified. The 12 types of amino acids allowed for use in the draft on sports nutrition food are all within the scope of the Announcement. The GB 14880 National Food Safety Standard Standard for the Use of Nutritional Fortification Substances in Foods, which was solicited opinions at the same time, also added a separate appendix, including the 22 types of amino acids and 36 compound sources allowed for use in foods for special dietary uses. It can be seen that the types of amino acids and compound sources of nutritional fortification substances allowed for use in the Announcement will ultimately be unified under GB 14880 for management. At this point, there is a clear regulatory basis for the property of nutritional fortification substance, available types and compound sources, as well as requirements for quality specifications of amino acids in sports nutrition food.
The State Administration for Market Regulation added the category of "food nutritional fortification substance" in the Detailed Rules for the Review of Food Additive Production Licenses (Draft for Comments) in 2024, with the category number of 3204. If the Detailed Rules are implemented, manufacturers of amino acids with the property of nutritional fortification substance will change the category number from the original 3201 food additive to 3204 food nutritional fortification substance when handling production licenses.
PART.3 After the implementation of the new national standard, amino acids with the property of nutritional fortification substance should comply with the new national standard
The drafts of food safety standards for alanine, glycine and arginine, which are solicited opinions simultaneously, clarify that "the standards also apply to food nutritional fortification substances". This means that after the standards are implemented, the implementing standards for food additives amino acids with the property of nutritional fortification substance, used for flavoring substances and other functions will be unified and consistent. The drafts differ from the Announcement in terms of scope and technical requirements, which are a revision and improvement of the Announcement. According to regulatory requirements, after the implementation of food safety standards, the Announcement will be automatically abolished.
PART.4 Impact on the food industry
Rich formula choices drive product innovation: The increase in the types of amino acids will significantly expand the space for the combination of ingredients in sports nutrition food, providing richer choices for formula design. Manufacturers of sports nutrition food can design precise nutrition formulas based on different target groups (such as athletes, general fitness enthusiasts and physical fitness improvement groups) and sports purposes (muscle gain, fat loss, endurance, recovery), thereby upgrading products from "standardization" to "customization" and "personalization".
Collaborative standard upgrade, expanding the application of functional foods: The draft expanded the types of amino acids, providing a common raw material compliance basis for functional foods such as food for special medical purpose and health food, promoting the precise formula development of food for special medical purpose in specific clinical scenarios and enhancing the scientific support for the functional claims of health food. The convergence of standards for the application of amino acids in three categories of products is conducive to the sharing of raw materials, technology and collaborative innovation, accelerating the extension of functional amino acids to the field of Big Health, and enhancing the R&D level and industrial competitiveness of functional foods in China.
Promoting the integration of domestic sports nutrition food with international standards: The 8 newly added amino acids in the draft have been approved for use in sports nutrition food and other related food categories in mainstream international markets such as the United States, the European Union, Japan and Korea. This adjustment marks that China's food safety standards for sports nutrition are accelerating their integration with international mainstream standards, which will help enhance the international recognition and global market competitiveness of Chinese brands, promote the development of foreign trade, and also reduce the compliance costs of foreign brands' production in China, attracting international enterprises to participate in domestic market competition.
PART.5 Impact on the amino acid industry
Expanding market demand and enhancing industry scale: The draft newly added 8 amino acids to the "positive list" of raw materials of sports nutrition food, and raised the upper limit of consumption of leucine, isoleucine and valine. This means that manufacturers of sports nutrition food can apply these amino acids within the framework of compliance and legally increase the consumption amount. The increase in market demand will directly stimulate the growth of the market size of amino acid.
Driving technological innovation and promoting the localization of high-end amino acids: The drafts of food safety standards for alanine, glycine and arginine for soliciting opinions have stricter technical requirements compared to those in the Announcement and current standards, and are benchmarked against international standards. The dual pressure of stricter regulation and intensified competition will drive enterprises to accelerate technological breakthroughs, improve the production, purity and stability of amino acids, break through bottleneck technologies such as strain selection, efficient fermentation and purification, and break the dependence on imports in the field of high-end amino acids.
Expanding the compound space and adapting to segmented scenarios: The draft of the new national standard for sports nutrition food allows the use of a total of 12 amino acids, providing manufacturers of amino acids with richer compound options, expanding the design space for functional formulas, and better adapting to the functional segmented scenarios of sports nutrition food.
PART.6 Other impacts
Deepening clinical research and exploring more functions: The addition of amino acids in the draft provided more exploration directions for clinical research. Researchers can design targeted nutrition programs based on different types of exercise, intensities and individual differences, explore the synergistic effects under different dosage combinations, establish more accurate supplementation guidelines, to avoid potential risks caused by excessive supplementation, providing scientific basis for evaluating the intervention effectiveness of sports nutrition.
Enhancing awareness and guiding scientific supplementation: The draft sends a positive signal of national recognition of the functionality and safety of amino acids, which helps to enhance consumers' awareness of the scientific value of amino acids. Production and operation enterprises can convey the functions of different amino acids through product labeling, science popularization and other methods, to help consumers establish "on-demand choice" awareness. At the same time, the standard clarified the dosage range, which can reduce the misconception of "blind supplementation".
The draft of sports nutrition food has a profound impact and significance, promoting the upgrading of the sports nutrition food industry towards precision and personalization, expanding the innovation space of product, driving technological innovation and domestic substitution in the amino acid industry, providing raw material support for food for special medical purpose and health food and deepening the exploration of clinical application.
Source: Antion
Note: This article is compiled by Antion. Please indicate the source for reprint.