Review of China’s New Food Additives in the First Half of 2026

In the first half of 2026, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) issued two “Three New Foods” announcements (Announcement No. 1 and Announcement No. 5 of 2026), approving a total of 38 products, including new food raw materials, new food additives, and new food-related products. Click here to learn more details about the China's new food raw materials acceptance and approval status in the first half of 2026.

Among these, 18 were approved as new food additives.

This article provides an overview of the acceptance and approval status of new food additives in China during the first half of 2026.

Overview of new food additives accepted, issued for public comments and approved in the first half of 2026

As of July 6, 2026, NHC accepted the application of 41 new food additives, including both new types and those with expanded use and scope. The China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) issued a total of 12 new food additives for public comments; moreover, HNC approved 18 new food additives, including the ones with expanded scope.

List of accepted new food additives in the first half of 2026 (41 types)

In the first half of 2026, NHC accepted the application of 41 new food additives. Detailed information is shown in the Table below, substances marked in red indicate that a “Decision of Administrative Disapproval” or a “Notice of Review Comments” has been issued, totaling 16 substances. The remaining substances are either under extended review or in the public consultation.

List of new food additives that have passed the technical review and were issued for public comments in the first half of 2026 (12 types)

In the first half of 2026, 12 new food additives have passed the technical review by the review committee of China CFSA and were issued for public comments, including 1 new food enzyme, 3 new nutrition enhancer, 3 food additives with expanded use, 2 food nutrition enhancers with expanded scope, 1 food processing aids with expanded use and 2 food additives with supplementary quality specification.

New Food Additives Issued for Public Comments in the First Half of 2026

List of approved new food additives in the first half of 2026 (18 types)

In the first half of 2026, 18 new food additives were approved by NHC. Detailed information is as follows:

New Food Additives Approved in the First Half of 2026

CIRS Opinion

The approval trends in the first half of 2026 indicate that precision nutrition and biomanufacturing have become the key drivers of innovation in China’s food additive industry. HMOs, new food enzymes, and natural sweeteners accounted for a significant share of applications and approvals.

Among these, HMOs continued to dominate the regulatory landscape. Following the approval of 3'-SL at the beginning of the year, a public consultation on expanding its conditions of use was issued just two months later, highlighting both strong market demand and an increasingly efficient regulatory review process. The regulatory framework for the major HMO ingredients is now approaching completion. 2'-FL, LNnT, and 3'-SL have already been approved, while 3-FL, LNT, and 6'-SL have each been the subject of multiple public consultations and are expected to receive approval in the near future.

Beyond these achievements, several regulatory trends deserve attention. Advances in synthetic biology have increased both the complexity of regulatory review and industry concentration; however, the approval pathway has not become more restrictive. Based on the statistics, although regulatory scrutiny has become more rigorous—with nearly 50% of accepted applications receiving a Notice of Review Comments, and both the numbers of public consultations and approvals declining year on year—there are no fundamental barriers to approval. Companies that adequately demonstrate technological necessity and product safety, while preparing high-quality submission dossiers, can effectively avoid delays and additional costs associated with supplementary information requests.

Application trends also suggest that innovation remains strong. New ingredients such as enzymatically produced steviol glycosides and fermentation-derived thaumatin are currently under review, reflecting the industry’s continued commitment to developing next-generation food additives.

Note: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in this article. However, the data are for reference only. Please refer to the latest information officially published by the competent authorities. CIRS Group welcomes any comments or corrections regarding the content of this article.

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• Application for new feed ingredients and feed additives in China, the U.S., and the EU.

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