What is novel food?

With the reform of the management system of novel food in China, the name of novel food has been changed from "new resource food" to "novel food", and the connotation of the concept of novel food has changed with it. On October 1, 2013, the Measures for the Administration of Safety Review of Novel Food (formulated by the National Health and Family Planning Commission) came into effect, and the Measures for the Administration of New Resource Food was abolished on the same day. The statement of novel food replaced the new resource food, novel food refers to the following items which have no traditional consumption habits in China:

(1) Animals, plants and microorganisms;

(2) components separated from animals, plants and microorganisms;

(3) food components whose original structure has been changed;

(4) other newly developed food raw materials.

Among them, "traditional consumption habits" refers to a certain food with production and operation history for more than 30 years as a stereotyped or non-stereotyped packaged food within the provincial jurisdiction, and the food is not included in the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China.

At the same time, the Measures stipulates that novel food shall comply with the provisions of the Food Safety Law and relevant regulations, rules and standards, and shall not produce any acute, subacute, chronic or other potential health hazards to the human body.

What are the differences between novel food and traditional food?

First: novel food refers to food without consumption habits, basically no one used to consume it, or did not take it as food to consume;

Second: the listing of novel food for sale must apply to the health department for record, and it cannot be listed before the approval;

Third: most of novel foods stipulate the consumption limit and consumption population. According to the Measures for the Administration of Safety Review of Novel Food, if a food contains novel food, the product labels and indication shall comply with the state laws, regulations, food safety standards and the requirements of announcements by the National Health and Family Planning Commission. If novel food is used, it must be used in accordance with the provisions of announcements. If required, the unsuitable people and the consumption limit shall be marked in accordance with the requirements of announcements.

China's first batch of novel food (namely the original new resource food) was identified as early as 2004. There has been to now more than 200 kinds of novel food, and all of them are through the complex review process and safety certification.

What are the differences between novel food and health food?

(1) Health food refers to food with specific health function, when applying for approval, the health function must be made clear, and health function and limit should be marked on the product packaging (i.e. the so-called blue hat), and one or more functions of novel food is not detailed in product introduction.

(2) Novel food and health food are suitable for different people. The former is suitable for any people, while the latter is suitable for specific people.

Questions & Answers

Q1: Do imported novel food have to be allowed to be produced or sold in the country of origin?

A: Yes, according to the provisions of Article 8 of the Novel Food Application and Acceptance:

In case of application for imported novel food; it is also required to submit following documents besides the above requirements in Article 7:

(1) Certificate or document that allows the material to be produced or sold in the country (territory) of origin issued by relevant departments or organizations of the exporting country (territory);

(2) Certificate or document that proves the manufacturer is audited and qualified, issued by relevant departments or organizations of the country (territory) where the manufacturer is located. This regulation only standardizes the imported materials and does not specify the products to be used.

Q2: Does imported novel food or food containing novel need to fill in the Chinese registration number of the overseas manufacturer?

A: Yes. For food exported to China starting from January 1, 2022, the Chinese registration number of the enterprise should be filled in the certificate column (license class code 519) of "Registration of overseas manufacturer of imported Food" under "Product Qualification" in the customs declaration form.

In the customs declaration of imported food for the implementation of the declaration item of the 2020 version, the "overseas manufacturer of imported food" should be selected in the "Other enterprise category" column under "Other enterprise", and the Chinese registration number of the enterprise should be filled in the "number or enterprise name" column.

If the declaration is not completed as required, the Customs will not accept the declaration.

Q3: Is it necessary to fill in the name, number and other relevant information of the supervision certificates such as the "License Certificate for Novel Food" in the import declaration link?

A: No, according to the announcement No. 152 of 2019 jointly issued by the General Administration of China Customs and the National Health Commission, since September 27, 2019, two kinds of supervision certificates (hereinafter referred to as certificates), such as the "License Certificate for Novel Food" and the "Temporary Applicable Standards for Importing Food without National Food Safety Standards", was withdrawn from port inspection.

If you are interested in the application of novel food, please feel free to contact us!

Hongtao Fei

Tel: 010-51301566

email: feiht@antion.net

Source: 12360 Customs Hotline

Note: This article is compiled by Antion, please indicate our source if reprint it.