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 94. Companies must register FSMP products with the SAMR. This applies to both imported products as well as those produced domestically and marketed in China. 13 new FSMP products were approved for use in 2022.

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.

To help enterprises better understand the characteristics of nutritionally complete food for special medical purposes (FSMP) for people aged 1-10 years or above, this article has analyzed registered nutritionally complete food from several aspects, including the energy density, the energy supply ratio of the three macronutrients and their major sources.

On 25th August, 2022, National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China (NHC) updated The List of Bacterium Strains that Can be Used for Food & The List of Bacterium Strains that Can be Used in Infant and Young Children Food. A two-year transitional period will be given if classification and name of the strains need to be adjusted. Notably, during the transitional period, both the original and the new name are available.

In recent years, Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) has become the new aristocrat in milk and been well known by the public. HMOs are the third largest solid component in breast milk after lactose and fat. The importance of HMOs in the field of food nutrition has been constantly confirmed. Its typical ingredient 2'-FL has successively won the "pass" in the several countries. Although 2'-FL has not been officially approved for use in China, many 2'-FL applications have been reviewed and draft for public comments by the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA), including synthetic sources and modified E.coli sources, which indicates that the approval of 2'-FL in China is near.

CFDA released the Administrative Measures of FSMP Registration (trial)on March 7, 2016, and it was implemented on July 1, 2016. Now the CIRS provide the detailed explanation.