With the advancement of science and technology and the growth of consumption demand, the food materials industry continues to innovate and develop, and new raw materials and new processes continue to emerge in an endless stream. While meeting the actual needs of the development of food industry, it will also bring certain food safety risks. There are uncertainties in the use of new food contact materials that are not authorized by regulations and relevant announcements, so it is particularly important to conduct safety assessments before they are put on the market. Therefore, China’s “Food Safety Law” stipulates that new varieties of food-related products produced or imported using new food raw materials must submit relevant product safety assessment materials to the health administration department of the State Council. It can be put on the market after review and approval.

Definition of Application for New Varieties of Food-related Products

      According to the “Administrative Licensing Regulations on New Varieties of Food-Related Products”, new varieties of food additives refer to new varieties of food-related products. It refers to food packaging materials, containers, detergents, disinfectants, and tools, new materials, new raw materials or new additives for equipment used in food production and operation, specifically including:

  • Food packaging materials, containers and additives that have not been included in the national food safety standards or are allowed to be used as announced by the Ministry of Health;
  • Food packaging materials, containers and additives that expand the scope or amount of use;
  • New raw materials that have not yet been included in the list of raw materials for food disinfectants and detergents;
  • New materials and new additives in tools and equipment used in food production and operation that come into direct contact with food.

      Among them, the mentioned national food safety standards mainly refer to product standards and usage standards for food-related products, such as the “National Food Safety Standard-Food Contact Coatings and Coatings” (GB 4806.10-2016) in the GB 4806 series, the standard for the use of additives “National Food Safety Standard-Standard for the Use of Additives for Food Contact Materials and Products” (GB 9685-2016). The list of raw materials for food disinfectants and detergents mainly refers to the “List of Raw Materials (Ingredients) for Food Disinfectants (2009 Version)”. New varieties of food-related products approved and released by the health administrative department from time to time will be supplements to the food-related products allowed to be used.

Applicants of Application for New Varieties of Food-related Products

      The “applicant” can be an organization or an individual. Applicants can be producers, operators, users or other relevant parties of new materials, new raw materials or new additives.

Relevant Regulations

  • Provisions on Administrative Licensing Management of New Varieties of Food-Related Products: clarify relevant content such as the definition of new varieties of food-related products, usage requirements, required materials for application, and licensing procedures;
  • Regulations on declaration and acceptance of new varieties of food-related products: mainly provide detailed regulations on the general requirements for application materials, requirements for preparation of materials, review and acceptance, etc.;
  • Service Guide for Approval of New Varieties of Food-Related Products: provides detailed guidance on specific approval-related matters for food-related products, such as project information, processing basis, acceptance agency, decision-making agency, service conditions, application materials, basic processing procedures, approval time limit, approval results, etc.

Q&A About Application for New Varieties of Food-related Products

Q1: A certain substance as an additive for food contact materials and products has been included in GB 9685 “National Standard for Food Safety-Standards for the use of additives for Food Contact materials and Products”, we want to use it as a base resin, do we need to declare new varieties of food related products?

A1: Yes, exactly. According to the definition of the scope of new varieties in the “Regulations on Administrative Licensing of New Varieties of Food-Related Products”, if you want to use it as a basic resin in food contact materials and products, you still need to declare a new variety of resin.