Recently, China’s Food Evaluation Center of the State Administration for Market Regulation released answers to frequently asked questions about infant formula product formulation.

On February 14, 2026, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) issued 4 new food additives for public comments, including 1 new food enzyme, 2 new food nutrition enhancers, and 1 food processing aid with expanded application scope. Comments are welcomed before March 16, 2026.

IMG_256 On February 26, 2026, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) issued 2 new food related products for public comments. Comments are welcomed before March 26, 2026.

On Febuary 5, 2026, National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China (NHC) issued an announcement (No. 1 of 2026) for “Three New Foods” with 22 products approved, including 5 new food raw materials, 11 new food additives, and 6 food-related products.

On February 5, 2026, China’s NHC issued the No.1 Announcement of 2026. 3’-SL was approved as a new food nutrition enhancer, becoming the third officially authorized human milk oligosaccharide (HMOs) following 2’-FL and LNnT.

Earlier in September 2025, Shandong Runhan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (“Runhan”) achieved a milestone in its international compliance journey for its core product, GlcNac. With comprehensive professional support from CIRS Group and its U.S. subsidiary, the company’s GlcNac has been concluded by GRAS Panel as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS).

On January 15, 2026, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), in collaboration with the National Health Commission and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, released the “Catalog of Permitted Health Function Claims for Health Foods: Helps maintain bone and joint health (alleviating Pain or stiffness/reducing cartilage damage)” along with supporting documents. These regulations took effect on January 1, 2026. This marks the first new function added to the health function catalog since the SAMR released the “Implementation Rules for New Functions and Product Technical Evaluation of Health Foods (Trial)” in 2023.

As of December 31, 2025, a total of 59 Foods for Special Medical Purposes (FSMPs) were approved in 2025 (registration number: 国食注字TY2025XXXX), bringing the cumulative number of approved FSMPs in China to 290.

To continuously optimize the port business environment and support the development of import trade in substances with both food and medicinal uses, the General Administration of Customs (GAC), the National Health Commission (NHC), the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), and the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) have decided to pilot the implementation of classified import management for certain food–medicinal substances.

According to the information released by the Center for Food Evaluation, State Administration for Market Regulation and the Special Food Information Query Platform, in 2025, State Administration for Market Regulation issued a total of 2130 health food (dietary supplement) registration approvals. Among them, 200 approvals were for new health food products, including 194 domestic products and 6 imported products.