What is food for special dietary uses?

According to the national food safety standard Labeling of Prepackaged Foods for Special Dietary Uses (GB 13432-2013), foods for special dietary uses refer to the foods specially processed or formulated to meet the special dietary demand under special physical or physiologic conditions and (or) disease and disorder. The content of the nutrient and (or) other nutritional ingredients in such foods is significantly different from that incomparable ordinary food.

What are the food categories covered by foods for special dietary uses?

Infant formula, complementary foods for infants and young children, food for special medical purpose and other foods for special dietary uses other than those listed above.

What are the standard requirements for foods for special dietary uses?

In order to protect the health of consumers, foods for special dietary uses should conform to the corresponding national food safety standards such as the Cereal-based Complementary Foods for Infants and Young Children (GB 10769-2010), General Rules of Infant Formula for Special Medical Purpose (GB 25596-2010), General Principles of Food for Special Medical Purpose (GB 29922-2013), Complementary Food Supplements (GB 22570-2014), Infant Formula (GB 10765-2021), Older Infant Formula (GB 10766-2021) and Young Children Formula (GB 10767-2021).

What are the requirements for the labeling of foods for special dietary uses?

01 Basic requirements for labeling

In addition to the basic requirements of general food labeling, the label should also meet the following requirements:

l   It should not involve the function of disease prevention and treatment.

l   It should comply with the relevant provisions of labels and instructions in the corresponding product standards of prepackaged foods for special dietary uses.

l   Content claims and function claims should not be made for essential ingredients in infant formula for 0 to 6 months.

02 Mandatory labeling contents

The labeling contents should conform to the requirements of the corresponding provisions in the national food safety standard General Standard for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (GB 7718-2011), and indicate the name of food, the list of ingredients, net content and specifications, the name, address and contact information of the manufacturer and/or distributor, production date and shelf life, storage conditions, food production license number, product standard code and other contents that need to be marked. The name, address and contact information of the manufacturer, food production license number and product standard code may not be marked on the label for imported prepackaged foods for special dietary uses, but the name of the country of origin or the name of the region, as well as the name, address and contact information of the agents, importers or distributors registered in China according to laws.

03 Optional labeling contents

According to the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods for Special Dietary Uses (GB 13432-2013), the mass percentage of energy and nutrients in the recommended or appropriate intake, the content claims of energy and nutrients and the function claims of energy and nutrients are optional to mark.

What are the Customs supervision requirements?

1. The overseas manufacturers that export foods for special dietary uses to China need to be recommended for registration by local competent authorities to General Administration of China Customs. Only those obtaining the registration by the General Administration of China Customs can export to China.

2. Overseas exporters or agents and domestic importers should record information through the record system for importers and exporters of Imported food and cosmetics of the General Administration of China Customs.

3. Compared with general food, the documents to be paid attention to when applying for the import of foods for special dietary uses to the Customs mainly include but are not limited to the followings:

(1) Formula Registration Certificate of Infant Formula (Import);

(2) Registration Certificate of Food for Special Medical Purpose (Import);

(3) Other materials to be submitted.

4. The Chinese label of imported foods for special dietary uses must be printed on the minimum package of sale and no additional affix is allowed. The Chinese registration number of overseas manufacturer or the registration number approved by the competent authority of the country (region) where it is located should be marked on the inner and outer package.

5. The importer should audit the implementation of the risk control measures of food safety in overseas enterprises before import, to ensure that foods for special dietary uses entering China conform to the relevant requirements of Chinese laws, regulations and standards.

6. Importers should establish a food import and sales record system, truthfully record the name, net content/specification, quantity, production date, production or import lot number, shelf life, the name, address, and contact information of the overseas exporter or purchaser, delivery date, and other information on food, and keep relevant documents. The records and documents shall be kept for not less than six months after the expiration of shelf life of food, or for not less than two years after sale in the absence of such shelf life.

Source: Qingdao Customs 12360 Hotline

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