On February 8th, the National Health Commission of China officially implemented the revised edition of the "National Food Safety Standard - Standards for Uses of Food Additives" (GB-2760-2024). This marks the first major revision to the national standards for food additives in nearly a decade and exerts a profound impact on the food industry, particularly in the segments of snack foods, baked goods, and fruit and vegetable juices. Bakery China, a prominent player in the baking industry, has been getting close attention on the changes accordingly.

A core change in the new standard is the deletion of the use provisions for sodium dehydroacetate and its sodium salt in various foods, including butter, bread, cakes, baked goods fillings and glazes, pre-prepared meat products, as well as fruit and vegetable juices (purees). This adjustment prompted upstream and downstream enterprises in the baking industry to prepare in advance and explore alternative solutions.

While the new standard prompted the industry to seek alternatives, these solutions were not without challenges.However, the alternative solutions were not without challenges. Although various alternatives existed, such as reintroducing calcium propionate, potassium sorbate, or adopting plant extracts, some brands encountered issues of mold growth or excessively sour taste after formula adjustments. This was primarily due to the immaturity of formulation technology in the second half of last year, with alternative solutions performing less stably than sodium dehydroacetate.

The new standard not only affected the baking industry but also comprehensively updated the use of food additives. The following points are particularly noteworthy:

Nutrient fortifiers are now classified as food additives, and their use must comply with the "National Food Safety Standard - Standards for Uses of Food Nutrient Fortifiers" (GB14880) and related regulations.

Six substances, including basil red, melilotus yellow, jujube date brown, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, fucoidan, and azodicarbonamide, have been removed and are prohibited from use in all types of food.

Preservatives are prohibited in canned products, including ε-polylysine hydrochloride, nisin, sorbic acid and its potassium salt, and stabilized chlorine dioxide. Acetic acid is prohibited in vinegar, natamycin in fruit and vegetable juices (purees), and β-carotene and diacetyl tartaric acid esters of monoglycerides and diglycerides in distilled liquor.

The maximum usage level of sodium dehydroacetate in pickled vegetables has been reduced from 1.0g/kg to 0.3g/kg.

When using sweeteners such as aspartame-acesulfame and acesulfame potassium-sucralose in the same food category, their combined maximum usage level must not exceed the standard specified for aspartame or acesulfame potassium.

The labeling and quality specifications for food flavors and fragrances have been clarified to ensure transparency and safety of food information.

The use of processing aids such as 1,2-dichloroethane, mineral oil, ammonium phosphate, ascorbic acid, and sodium ascorbate in food production is prohibited.

Seven new food categories have been added, such as other wheat flour products, other starch products, other cereal products, meatballs, other pre-prepared meat products, and other liquid compound seasonings, along with the addition of food processing microbial preparations. Additionally, some food categories have been revised, such as classifying formulated soy sauce and formulated vinegar under liquid compound seasonings, and changing "vinegar" to "food vinegar," with corresponding adjustments to food additive use regulations.

Overall, the revised edition of the food additive use standard has undergone significant adjustments from the main text to the appendices, impacting almost all food production enterprises. As food production units, it is imperative to promptly learn and master the new standard's requirements to ensure product safety and compliance, safeguarding "food safety on the tip of the tongue." Meanwhile, enterprises should actively research and develop new alternative solutions and technologies to adapt to evolving food safety standards and consumer demands.

Bakery China 2025 will continue to share more industry professional content with you, so please stay tuned!

Bakery China, organized by China Association of Bakery and Confectionery Industry (CABCI) and Bakery China Exhibitions Co., Ltd. was launched since 1997. Bakery China is the Asia Pacific‘s leading event serving the entire value chain for the bakery and confectionery market. The event presents all range of ingredient, equipment, packaging and services, and enables global leading professionals and buyer delegates to meet and share the latest innovations and thinking on manufacturing & distribution, R&D, applications and related services for bakery industry.

The 27th Bakery China would be held on May 19-22, 2025 at National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC), Shanghai, covering 330,000 sqm show space. Over 2,200 exhibitors and 400,000 visits are expected.

Source：FoodTalks