On August 1, 2025, the National Health Commission issued the drafts of 30 national food safety standards including the National Food Safety Standard Nutritional Supplementary Foods for the Elderly (Draft for Comments) (hereinafter referred to as the Draft). The deadline for comments is September 26, 2025. The Draft for comments is aimed at the elderly population, filling the gap of the “no standard to follow” situation in the nutritional supplementary foods for the elderly market , which is conducive to regulating market order, reducing market chaos and ensuring the nutrition and health of the elderly population.

PART.1 Define the scope of the population and clarify their true attributes

The Draft clearly stipulates that nutritional supplementary foods for the elderly are suitable for people aged 60 and above, which are foods for special dietary uses made from one or more of dairy products, dairy protein, soybeans and soy protein as food matrices, with vitamins, minerals, and/or other food ingredients added, to meet the nutritional supplement needs of the elderly population. The recommended daily consumption is set at no more than 50g. This definition not only anchors the special dietary attributes of such products, but also avoids excessive nutritional supplementation through consumption limit, which is in line with the digestion and absorption characteristics of the elderly.

In terms of raw material control, the Draft highlights the rigid requirements for nutritional quality: clarifying that the content of high-quality protein should not be less than 20% of the total product mass; Require soybeans and their products to be thoroughly processed to eliminate anti nutritional factors, while prohibiting the use of hydrogenated oils and fats, to avoid digestive and absorption disorders and potential cardiovascular health risks of trans fatty acids from the source, reflecting precise adaptation to the physiological characteristics of the elderly population.

As a kind of foods for special dietary uses, the use of food additives and nutritional fortification substances in nutritional supplementary foods for the elderly should strictly follow the requirements of GB 2760 and GB 14880, ensuring the safety and compliance of ingredients added.

PART.2 Scientifically setting indicators of nutritional components to accurately match the special nutritional needs of the elderly population

The Draft specifies the indicators of essential nutritional components and optional nutritional components and content requirements for nutritional supplementary foods for the elderly. The essential ingredients include: vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B₁, vitamin B₂, vitamin B₁₂, folic acid, vitamin C, calcium, iron and zinc, providing 10 types of nutrients to meet the nutritional needs of the elderly, covering key nutrients that are commonly lacking in the elderly and ensuring a basic nutritional baseline through rigid indicators.

The optional ingredients include: vitamin E, vitamin K₂, vitamin B₆, pantothenic acid, niacin, biotin, choline, magnesium, selenium, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) + docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), dietary fiber, lutein, providing flexible supplementation space for diverse health needs and personalized choices for the elderly with different health conditions, reflecting the precision and comprehensiveness of nutritional supplementation.

PART.3 Build a multi-dimensional quality defense line and clarify safety requirements

The Draft requires that the limits of pollutants and mycotoxins in nutritional supplementary foods for the elderly should meet the requirements of GB 2762 and GB 2761 for complementary food nutritional supplements; Microbial limits should not only comply with the requirements of GB 29921, but also specify limit requirements for total plate count and coliforms; At the same time, for products containing legumes, the requirement of negative urease activity is set to avoid the hidden dangers of anti-nutritional factors.

PART.4 Refine the standards of labeling and strengthen consumption risk warnings for the elderly population

As a kind of foods for special dietary uses, the labeling of nutritional supplementary foods for the elderly should follow the general rules of GB 13432 and the targeted requirements are further clarified: the food name should be marked as "nutritional supplementary foods for the elderly" to clearly define the product attribute; Newly added the labeling for the content of "100 kJ" in the nutrition information, to facilitate the elderly to control their intakes reasonably based on their daily energy needs; The prompts of "This product cannot replace normal diet" and "This product contains multiple micronutrients. When consumed together with other similar products, attention should be paid to the dosage", which not only avoids the elderly from neglecting the role of natural diet, but also prevents the risk of nutrient overdose caused by the overlapping consumption of multiple products.

PART.5 Summary

The Draft is of great significance, as it not only ensures precise nutrition and strengthens the bottom line of food safety, but also helps to implement the strategy of healthy aging; It also points out the direction for enterprise innovation, promotes industrial upgrading, unifies standards to regulate market competition, optimizes the environment, promotes high-quality development of the industry, and provides support for the elderly nutrition food industry and the construction of healthy aging.

Source: Antion

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