National Standard Mandates Plain-Language Names for Food Packaging Additives

[ppzhan abstract] China's mandatory national standard for prepackaged food, the National Food Safety Standard — General Standard for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (GB7718-2011), officially came into force on April 20, and the standard will play a regulatory role in addressing the chaos in China's food labeling. The general standard stipulates that food labels shall indicate the food name, ingredient list, net content and specifications, and the names of the producer and operator, among other content, and specifically requires that all food additives be conspicuously marked on the food label and that "common names" be used so that consumers can understand them. Reporters visited a number of supermarkets in Beijing and conducted a survey of foods such as bread, milk, soymilk and soy products, finding that food companies are basically able to describe additives specifically. However, the wide variety of additives worries consumers.

It is reported that the new standard fully takes into account the implementation of the original General Standard for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (GB7718-2004), refines the specific requirements for food labels under the Food Safety Law and its implementing regulations, and enhances the scientific nature and operability of the standard. For example, it requires food ingredients to be clearly indicated, additive labeling to be more readily understandable, and shelf life to be calculated according to the individual item that expires earliest; the new standard's provisions on labeling content are more stringent.

An official with the China National Food Industry Association told reporters that food labels are the carrier for conveying product information to consumers and also a direct and effective way for consumers to learn about product information. In recent years, however, problems caused by unclear food labels have occurred from time to time, and consumers' failure to understand the information marked on product labels has also had a certain impact on their purchasing decisions. The implementation of the new standard will play a very good regulatory role.

According to the introduction, the new standard modifies the labeling method for food additives: they may be labeled with their specific names, or labeled with the name of their functional class together with the specific name or code (INS number) of the food additive. Under the new standard, the content that must be mandatorily labeled on food labels includes: the food name, ingredient list, net content and specifications, the name, address and contact information of the producer and operator, the production date and shelf life, storage conditions, the food production license number, the product standard code and other content that should be labeled. Compared with the old standard, the new standard adds the contact information of the producer and distributor and sets out detailed provisions on names and addresses, requiring the name and address of a producer that is registered in accordance with the law and able to bear responsibility for product quality and safety. This increases the traceability of prepackaged food and makes the quality of prepackaged food more assured.

In addition, the new standard requires that various ingredients be listed in descending order of the amount added during the manufacture or processing of the food. The new standard also lists 8 categories of allergenic substances and encourages companies to voluntarily label them to alert consumers; for allergenic substances other than the 8 categories, producers may also choose whether to label them. The new standard also adds requirements for health food: "content that indicates or implies a role in preventing or treating disease shall not be labeled." At the same time, non-health food must not explicitly or implicitly claim health benefits.

Reporters visited a number of supermarkets in Beijing and conducted a survey of foods such as bread, milk, soymilk and soy products, finding that food companies are basically able to describe additives specifically. However, the wide variety of additives worries consumers.

Additives "easy to understand"

Dong Jinshi, executive vice president of the Food Packaging Association, said the new standard requires food ingredients to be clearly indicated, additive labeling to be readily understandable, and shelf life to be calculated according to the individual item that expires earliest. "In the past it was enough to note that a colorant or thickener was contained, but now that is no longer allowed; the specific name of the colorant must be labeled," Dong Jinshi said. Taking the food additive "tartrazine" as an example, it may be labeled in any of three forms: 1) tartrazine; 2) colorant (102); 3) colorant (tartrazine), but it must not be labeled only as "colorant."

Too many varieties, consumers worried

A reporter visited several supermarkets yesterday and found that the vast majority of food labels specify additives relatively specifically; for example, after "additives" and "colorants" on some foods, parentheses are added to indicate the specific names. But some foods skirt the rules, for example labeling "calcium propionate" without explaining what "calcium propionate" is.

As more additives have "emerged," consumers have expressed concern. Take ham sausage as an example: a single ham sausage may contain as few as 10-plus additives. "With so many additives, even though we can't really understand them, we're truly uneasy—are we eating ham sausage or additives?"

Dong Jinshi suggested that consumers should try to buy foods with fewer additives.

— This article is reposted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362103.html