With the increasing awareness of health, everyone attaches great importance to physical health. According to health reports, osteoarticular problems (those relating to, involving, or affecting bones and joints) have imperceptibly become one of the top ten problems plaguing national health. Osteoarticular problems are also beginning to impact younger citizens as well including those born in the 90s and even the 00s. Under such circumstances, an increasing number of people have become aware of the necessity of maintaining their bones and are willing to buy some health products with related functions for health care, among which glucosamine products are becoming the most prevalent.

Since the 1990s, the aging of China’s population has accelerated. According to the data of the seventh national population census, the proportion of Chinese aged 65 and over has reached 13.5%, which is higher than the global average of 9.3%. The aging population has promoted the development of the “silver economy” and expanded the consumption of the products and services aimed at older consumers. This article lays out the new opportunities and challenges for the "geriatric food industry".

On November 7, 2022, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) released a public consultation on the Draft of the Labeling Guidelines on Foods for Special Medical Purposes (FSMP). The deadline for the feedback is November 25, 2022.

On October 28, 2022, two HMO products (2’-fucosyllactose and Lacto-N-neotetraose) of E. coli origin have passed the technical review of the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) Expert Review Committee and now open for public comments. CIRS has sorted out the detailed information about the acceptance and review information of HMO products in China as following:

On October 28, 2022, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) issued 3 new food contact resins passing the technical review of the CFSA Expert Review Committee and now open for public comments. The deadline for public comments is 21 November, 2022.

Many studies at home and abroad have shown that probiotics can help people to treat gastrointestinal diseases, relieve lactose intolerance, relieve constipation, weight loss, improve immunity, regulate blood pressure, improve food allergy, and promote health. With the improvement of living standards and the further recognition of probiotics, people's pursuit and expectations for health are getting higher and higher, and probiotics are also increasingly used in food. However, there are various probiotic products on the market. How to correctly distinguish between probiotic common food and probiotic health food brings challenges to consumers.

According to information recently released by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), the number of foods for special medical purposes (FSMP) products approved in China has reached 88. Companies must register FSMP products with the SAMR. This applies to both imported products as well as those produced domestically and marketed in China. In 2022, fat formula and specific nutritionally complete food were both approved for the first time, greatly enriching the FSMP categories approved for use in China. According to the statistics, seven products have been approved since January 2022 with three approved in August.

On October 21, 2022, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) asked for public comment on Calcium β-hydroxy-β-methyl butyrate (CaHMB). The deadline for public comments is November 21, 2022. CaHMB was approved as a new food raw material in 2011, and then the scope of application was expanded in 2017. This time, the public consultation plans to expand the recommended intake from ≤3 g/ d to ≤6 g/ day.

In order to help enterprises understand the current situation of the industry and clarify the direction of application, CIRS Group will hold a webinar to introduce the correlation and difference between "new food raw materials" and "new food additives" (including ingredients produced by transgenic technology), and talk about the latest progress of hot ingredients such as "breast milk oligosaccharide (HMOs), β-nicotinamide single nucleotide (NMN)".

Since 2016, China has formally proposed to carry out the "three reductions and three health" action, advocating that citizens could eat less salt, less oil, and less sugar and maintain oral health, weight health and bones health”. To encourage "sugar reduction", several government functional departments have released related policy documents, these include: On June 24, 2019, the State Council issued the Opinions on the Implementation of the Healthy China Action, and the Healthy China Action (2019-2030) at the national level, which clearly proposing the strategic goal of "sugar reduction”. The National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China also released the Health Oral Action Plan (2019-2025), further proposing the goal of “sugar reduction”. China Beverage Health Consumption Forum released the White Paper on Sugar Reduction Action for Healthy China's Beverage and Food (2021), which advocates "sugar reduction" in beverages and food.