With the rapid development of the food industry and the growing demand of consumers for healthy food, the R&D and application of novel food ingredients have gradually become an important development direction in the food industry. So, what are novel food ingredients? How should novel food ingredients be labeled on the package of final products? Antion will help enterprises to understand the relevant regulation requirements for novel food ingredients.

PART.1 Definition of Novel Food Ingredients

According to the Regulations on the Declaration and Acceptance of Novel Food Ingredients, novel food ingredients refer to the following items that have no traditional consumption habits in China:

(1) Animals, plants and microorganisms;

(2) Components isolated from animals, plants and microorganisms;

(3) Food components with original structures altered;

(4) Other newly developed food ingredients.

Novel food ingredients should possess the characteristics of food ingredients, meet the required nutritional requirements, be non-toxic and harmless, and cause no acute, sub-acute, chronic or other potential harm to human health.

PART.2 Labeling Requirements for Novel Food Ingredients

Article 20 of the Measures for the Administration of Safety Review of Novel Food Ingredients stipulates: For foods containing novel food ingredients, the labeling of product should comply with the requirements of national laws, regulations, food safety standards and announcements of the National Health Commission. That is, for the final food products using novel food ingredients, their labels should meet the requirements of the Food Safety Law, the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Food Labeling, the General Standard for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (GB 7718) and the announcements on novel food ingredients issued by the National Health Commission.

For novel food ingredients, the main difference in labeling lies in the requirements of the announcements. The following introduces several common different labeling requirements in the announcements of novel food ingredients:

1. Labeling of the name of novel food ingredient: When a novel food ingredient is added to food, the list of ingredients should indicate the special name that reflects the true nature of the novel food ingredient, that is, the name of the novel food ingredient specified in announcement. For example, when ginseng is added to food, ginseng should be marked as "Panax Ginseng C.A. Meyer" in the list of ingredients of the final product.

2. Special requirements for labeling in announcements:

1) When the announcement requires indicating the unsuitable people and consumption limit on the label or instruction, they should be marked strictly in accordance with the requirements of announcements. It is also recommended to indicate the added amount of this novel food ingredient at the same time.

For example, for the above Panax Ginseng C.A. Meyer, according to the requirements of the announcement, it should be indicated on the label that "It is not suitable for pregnant women, lactating women and children under 14 years old" and "Recommended consumption amount ≤3 g/day".

2) Except for the case where the announcement clearly requires indicating the consumption amount, for other raw materials with consumption limits but no mandatory regulations, it is recommended to check whether there are any special regulations in other relevant announcements.

For example, when a product uses Aioebarbadensis Miller gel, according to the requirements of the Announcement of 6 Departments including the Ministry of Health on the Labeling Regulations of Foods Containing Aioebarbadensis Miller Gel (Announcement No. 1 of 2009), the enterprise standard should stipulate the daily consumption of foods added with Aioebarbadensis Miller gel. If consumers’ daily aloe intake cannot be ensured within the safe range, a warning statement about the daily consumption amount should be clearly indicated on the package. Therefore, for the above mentioned example of Panax Ginseng C.A. Meyer, it is recommended to also mark the added amount of Panax Ginseng C.A. Meyer in the final product.

PART.3 Conclusion

In summary, the labeling of novel food ingredients should strictly adhere to relevant national laws, regulations, national food safety standards and requirements of relevant announcements. When developing and producing products containing novel food ingredients, food enterprises should fully understand and implement the labeling regulations.

Source: Antion

Note: This article is compiled by Antion. Please indicate the source for reprint.