On October 26, 2023, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) issued 8 new food additives for public comments, including 1 new food additive, 2 new food enzymes, 1 new food nutrition enhancer and 4 food additives with expanded scope. The deadline for public comments is November 21, 2023. Details are as follows:
New food additive (1 type)
- Name: Rebaudioside M;
- Application scope and maximum usage level:
| Category number | Food name/category | Maximum level (g/kg) | Remark |
| 01.01.03 | Modified milk | 0.18 | Count as steviol |
| 01.02.02 | Flavored fermented milk | 0.2 | |
| 03.01 | Ice cream and ice milk | 0.5 | |
| 05.02.01 | Gum-based candy | 3.5 | |
| 14.0 | Beverages (excluding 14.01 packaged drinking water) | 0.2 | Count as steviol; count as the state of ready to drink, increase the usage of solid drinks according to the dilution ratio. |
Quality specifications: It is applicable to the food additive Rebaudioside M, which is prepared through the efficient catalysis of sucrose synthase, β-1,3-galactosyltransferase, and β-1,2-glucosyltransferase, followed by alcohol dissolution, filtration crystallization, and drying using the the main component, Rebaudioside A, found in steviol glycosides as the raw material. The production strain of Rebaudioside M should undergo safety assessment and meet the requirements outlined in Appendix A.
Appendix A Information on the production strain of Rebaudioside M
| Food additive | Source | Donor |
| Rebaudioside M | E.coli BL21 (DE3) | Methylocaldum szegediense a, Steviarebaudiana Bertoni b and Solanum tuberosum c |
a is the donor of sucrose synthase
b is the donor of β-1,3-galactosyltransferase
c is the donor of β-1,2-glucosyltransferase
New food enzymes (2 types)
| No. | Enzyme | Source | Donor |
| 1 | Cyclomaltodextin glucanotransferase | Anoxybacilluscaldiproteolyticus | — |
| 2 | Cellulase | Penicillium oxalicum | — |
The quality specifications of food enzymes shall comply with the provisions specified in National Food Safety Standard – Food Additive – Food Enzyme (GB 1886.174).
New food nutrition enhancer (1 type)
- Name: 2’-fucosyllactose, 2’-FL
- Application scope, maximum usage level and quality specifications: It shall be consistent with the requirements specified in NHC Notice No. 8, 2023 (except Appendix C – Information on the production strain of 2’-fucosyllactose). Details of the the production strain are as follows.
Table 1 Information on the production strain of 2’-fucosyllactose
| Nutrition enhancer | Source | Donor |
| 2’-fucosyllactose | Escherichia coliBL21(DE3) | Helicobacter pylori a |
a is the donor of α-1, 2-fucosyltransferase
Food additives with expanded scope (4 types)
| No. | Name | Function | Category number | Food name/category | Maximum level (g/kg) | Remark |
| 1 | Tomato red | Colorant | 08.02.01 | Seasoned meat products (adding seasonings to fresh meats) | 0.12 | Counted as tomato red |
| 08.02.02 | Cured meat products (e.g., salt meats, cured meats, dried salted duck, Chinese ham and sausage) | 0.018 | ||||
| 08.03.05 | Sausage | 0.35 | ||||
| 08.03.07.03 | Dried meat crisps | 0.26 | ||||
| 2 | Polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monooleat | Emulsifier | 16.03 | Collagen casing | 0.5 | — |
| 3 | Rosemary extract | Antioxidant | 04.05.02 | Processed nuts and seeds | 0.3 | — |
| 4 | Vitamine E (dl-α-tocopherol, d-α-tocopherol, mixed tocopherol concentrate) | Antioxidant | 16.07 | Others (lutein esters only) | 50 |
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