In the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)", it is recommended that each person consume 300-500 g of milk and milk products per day, but many people have lactose intolerance and lactose malabsorption, and "lactose-free" and "low-lactose" foods have emerged.

"Lactose-free milk beverages", "low-lactose plant protein beverage", "lactose-free milk", "lactose-free flavor yogurt"... With the interest in "lactose free" and "low lactose" by consumers, enterprises like to link the publicity content and "lactose", where there will inevitably be violations of publicity. So how exactly should "lactose" be claimed?

01 Which products can make claims on "lactose"

According to the National Food Safety Standard General Rules for the Nutrition Labelling of Prepackaged Foods (hereinafter referred to as "GB 28050"), only milk and dairy products can be claimed "lactose-free" and "low-lactose", and can be marked with lactose on the nutrition label.

What are the categories of milk and dairy products?

There is no clear product classification in GB 28050, and referring to the National Food Safety Standard Standard for Uses of Food Additives (hereinafter referred to as "GB 2760"), milk and dairy products include pasteurized milk, sterilized milk and other "milk" and flavored fermented milk, milk powder, cream, process(ed) cheese and other "dairy products".

[Common non-compliant claim] Beverage products such as milk beverages and plant protein beverages should not be claimed "lactose-free".

02 What are the requirements for making claims on "lactose"

• Low lactose

According to GB 28050, "low lactose" can be claimed when "lactose content ≤2g/100g (mL)". According to Article 61 of the GB 28050 Q&A, when the product is claimed to be low lactose, the nutrition information has the following two labeling methods:

(1) Marked under the carbohydrates, such as:

Nutrition Information

(2) Marked with a bracket, such as:

Nutrition Information

"Low lactose" can also be claimed using synonyms such as "reduced lactose".

• Lactose free

According to GB 28050, "lactose free" can be claimed when "lactose content ≤0.5g/100g (mL)". When the product is claimed to be lactose free, the labeling method of nutrition information is as follows:

Nutrition Information

"Lactose free" can also be claimed using synonyms such as "0 lactose".

• Requirement for labeling location

"Lactose free" and "low lactose" are content claims that can be anywhere on the label, but the size should not be larger than the food name and trademark.

• Allowable error range of content

According to GB 28050, the allowable error range of lactose is ≥80% of the labeled value.

03 Suggestion on claims

For milk and dairy products, when making claims on "lactose", pay attention to selecting the appropriate claim according to the lactose content of the product, and it is recommended to prepare the corresponding testing report as evidence support; For other general foods other than milk and dairy products, under the premise of meeting the corresponding sugar content of GB 28050, it can be claimed by "0 sugar" and "low sugar", and do not illegally making claims on “lactose” to challenge the bottom line of regulations.

Source: Antion

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