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".

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.

With the vigorous development of the nutrition and health industry in China and further standardize the licensing examination work, more and more new food raw material has been widely used after approval. The use of some approved raw materials is restricted. If enterprises want to expand the use scope, they also need to do the application in order to achieve the purpose of expanding the market.

In the past few years, some solid beverage products posing as FSMP products, infant formula products, and even food supplements in the Chinese market. Those solid beverage products use incompliant labels and advertisements with all kinds of function claims to mislead the consumers. In order to help consumers better recognize those products, China authority SAMR has taken the action to investigate those products, and issued new labeling regulations for solid beverages, effective since June 1st of 2022.

In accordance with the requirements of the Department of Food Safety Standards, Risk Surveillance and Assessment of the National Health Commission, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) sorted out the catalogues of approved “Three New Food” (including new food raw materials, new food additives, and new food-related products) since the implementation of the Food Safety Law in 2009, and illustrated their applicable national food safety standards. On March 28, 2022, CFSA issued the draft of this catalogue for public comments. Opinions and advices shall be given before April 25, 2022.

On 1st March, 2022, National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China (NHC) approved 2 new food raw materials and 11 new food additives.

On 29 January, 2022, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) issued 5 new food additives passing the technical review of the CFSA Expert Review Committee and now opens for public comments, including 3 new food enzymes, 1 new food processing aid and 1 food additive with expanded scope. The deadline for public comments is 28 February, 2022.

On 12th Apr. 2021, the General Administration of Customs, P.R.China (GACC) issued the Registration and Administration of Overseas Manufacturers for Imported Foods (GACC Decree No.248), which has come into force as from 1st Jan. 2022. From 1st Jan, 2022, food products imported into China without the GACC registration have the potential risks to be held by the local customs in China. In the past six months, there have been some updates from GACC regarding this registration obligation including the online registration system and the relevant guidance. Currently, it’s challenging for many overseas companies due to the limited time and registration process.

On January 7, 2022, State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) issued the Notice on Strengthening the Quality and Safety Supervision of Solid Beverages (Notice of No.46, 2021), which put forward many new requirements for the labels of solid beverages. The Notice will be implemented from June 1, 2022. Related enterprises are recommended to make preparations for label rectification in advance.

On April 12, 2021, GACC issued the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Registration and Administration of Overseas Manufacturers for Imported Food (GACC Decree No.248). It is believed that the vast majority of companies who exporting food to China know that “all overseas manufacturers need to complete the overseas facilities registration before January 1, 2022, otherwise the subsequent export may be affected’. After issuing the new regulations, GACC has also done a lot of work and efforts to help enterprises complete the registration work as soon as possible. At the end of September, GACC notified embassies and concerned authorities of the registration. In November, GACC launched the online registration system; issued the interpretation of GACC Decree No.248 and the guidelines for the overseas facilities registration. However, because the involved countries and foreign food companies are very many indeed, it is inevitable that many companies have problems and difficulties in registration.