INTERPRETATION "PRE-PACKAGED FOOD LABELING STANDARDS" OPINION DRAFT

On November 26th, 2018, the National Food Safety Standards Review Committee issued the GB7718-201X "General Rules for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods" drafting for comments. Global Foodmate compiled the important changes and main modifications in the following contents:

 (1) Terms and definitions

1. Increase the attribute name definition. “Special characteristics of one or more foods such as ingredient characteristics, process characteristics, food category”.

2. Modify the date of manufacture: "The date the food becomes the final product."

 (2) Basic requirements

1. Adjusted the requirement to use foreign or traditional characters at the same time. It may include the following two conditions:

1) pre-packaged food produced domestically but exported to other countries or regions;

2) imported pre-packaged food.

2. When the maximum surface area of the package or packaging container of the prepackaged food is more than 40 square centimeter, the height of the text, symbol and number of the mandatory labeling content shall not be less than 2.0 mm.

(3) Label Content

1. Added provisions for the labeling requirement of imported prepackaged foods.

2. Revised the regulations on food names.

3. Revised a number of provisions in the ingredient list.

(1) The basis for determining the order of declining ingredients is “calculated by quality”.

(2) Marking of compounded ingredients composition: When all or part of the original ingredients in the compound ingredients are the same as the other ingredients in the food, the relevant ingredients may also be combined and calculated according to the decreasing order of the total amount in the final product.

(3) Food additive labeling rules: It is required to use the food additive INS number instead of the specific name of the food additive when the label area is less than 40 square centimeter.

4. Revised part of the quantitative labeling of ingredients content.

(1) Emphasis on the addition of a certain ingredient: Emphasize the need to indicate the content when adding or containing ingredients, and explain the specific way of quantitative labeling.

(2) Reference to a certain ingredient or ingredient in the name of the food: the amount of the ingredient or ingredient added or the amount in the finished product should be indicated.

(3) Emphasize that there is no or no added ingredient: the standard revision adds provisions for the words “none” and “excluding”. When these words are required, the corresponding ingredients or ingredients should be “0”. .

5. Adjusted the relevant description of net content and specifications.

The manner in which the various casings of animal or plant origin are marked is clearly indicated by the length "meter".

6. Increased the requirements for the origin of imported prepackaged food.

7. Adjusted the relevant requirements for date marking.

8. Clearly import foods do not need to be marked with a production license number.

9. Adjusted the requirements for sensitizing substance labeling:

(1) Mandatory labeling: Direct use of sensitizing substance ingredients in production and processing. However, if non-protein parts are used, they are exempt from labeling.

(2) suggestive labeling: sensitizing substances may be introduced during production and processing

10. Add requirements for special approved foods.

11. Added provisions on the labeling of food groups:

a) foods requiring special approval;

b) foods for specific food groups have been specified in national standards, industry standards and local standards;

c) Foods that have been sufficiently scientifically proven to meet the special nutritional needs of different populations.

12. Exemption from the relevant labeling content.

A pre-packaged food ingredient list made from a single ingredient is exempt from the ingredients that have been volatilized or removed during processing.

Press release: link