Establishing Food Additive Management Systems, Increasing Sampling Inspections of Foods Labeled “Zero Additives,” and Strengthening Oversight of Food Additives in Meat Products and Beverages
On October 31, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) held a special press conference on food safety to introduce the latest developments in the supervision and comprehensive regulation of food additives.
According to the briefing, since the nationwide campaign to address the misuse of food additives was jointly launched in April 2025 by the Office of the Food Safety Commission of the State Council and five other government departments, market regulatory authorities across China have investigated and handled 13,180 cases involving the excessive or unauthorized use of food additives. The cases involved a total value of RMB 23.31 million, with RMB 90.38 million in fines and confiscations. Among them, 89 cases were transferred to public security authorities for criminal prosecution in accordance with the law.
Comprehensive Regulation Covering the Entire Food Chain from Farm to Table
Food additives are a product of the development of the food industry and serve various functions, including improving food quality, extending shelf life and facilitating processing. The proper and standardized use of food additives contributes to food safety.
The Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to food additive safety. The Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Deepening Reform and Strengthening Food Safety, issued in 2019, explicitly called for efforts to address problems such as non-compliant production practices, illegal additives, and the excessive or unauthorized use of food additives.
In recent years, the State Administration for Market Regulation has made excessive or unauthorized use of food additives a key focus of food safety supervision and has guided local market regulatory authorities in carrying out a series of special campaigns. These efforts have effectively curbed such problems in certain key regions and food categories, although repeated violations and rebounds remain a concern.
To consolidate previous achievements, the Office of the Food Safety Commission of the State Council and five other government departments jointly launched a nationwide comprehensive campaign against the misuse of food additives in April this year.
According to the briefing, the campaign has five key characteristics:
Full-chain regulation: Comprehensive oversight covers the entire food chain, from supervision of edible agricultural products to the production and distribution of food additives, as well as their use in food production and catering. Greater coordination among departments and regions is being promoted to strengthen regulatory cooperation and social participation.
Focused risk areas: The campaign targets four key issues: risks arising from edible agricultural products at the source, weaknesses in the production and distribution of food additives, excessive or unauthorized use of additives during food production and catering, and the online sale of food additives. Specific management requirements have been established for each area.
“No unnecessary additives” principle: Food companies are encouraged to avoid using food additives whenever possible and to minimize their use when they are necessary. The campaign promotes a “dual reduction” initiative aimed at reducing both the types and quantities of food additives used in the food industry.
Industry self-discipline: Industry organizations, including the China Food Industry Association, China Dairy Industry Association and China Condiment Industry Association, have issued initiatives encouraging companies to follow the “no unnecessary additives” principle during product development, comply strictly with applicable standards during production, and accurately disclose food additives on product labels.
Strict enforcement: Authorities are intensifying efforts to investigate and combat the misuse of food additives, tracing illegal products back to their sources and following their distribution channels, with particular attention to excessive or unauthorized use of preservatives, sweeteners and colorants.
Sun Huichuan, Food Safety Director of the State Administration for Market Regulation, said that the public and news media have shown strong interest in food additives. Some consumers have developed concerns about food additives, while some social media accounts have broadly referred to them as “technology and tricks.”
According to Sun, what consumers are actually concerned about is the misuse of food additives by dishonest food producers and operators—for example, using additives to conceal expired or spoiled raw materials, misleading consumers about the nature of products, or engaging in adulteration. In essence, the concern is not food technology itself, but the illegal addition and misuse of food additives. Therefore, this remains a major priority for food safety supervision.
Strict Regulation Throughout the Food Additive Supply Chain
To ensure the safety of food additive production and use, China has established a comprehensive food additive management system covering risk assessment, standard setting, production and application.
Strict approval procedures:
New varieties of food additives are subject to strict approval procedures. The competent health authorities under the State Council conduct safety assessments, and new additives can only be approved after they are confirmed to be safe, reliable and technically necessary.
Strict licensing requirements:
China implements a licensing system for food additive production. Manufacturers must have appropriate production facilities, equipment, qualified technical personnel and management systems, and obtain a food additive production license before commencing production.
Strict regulatory oversight:
Market regulatory authorities conduct routine inspections and sampling tests to supervise food additive production. Manufacturers are required to follow national food safety standards regarding raw materials, production processes and technical specifications. Products must pass factory inspections before they can be released for sale. Chemicals other than approved food additives may not be manufactured or sold as food additives.
Strict labeling requirements:
China has established specific national food safety standards for food additive labeling. Manufacturers must clearly identify relevant information in accordance with these standards. Food additive products must prominently display the words “Food Additive” on their labels, together with information such as the additive name, applicable standard, usage, dosage and scope of application. Compound food additives used in food production and catering must also indicate the content of each individual additive in the ingredient list.
Strict usage standards:
China has established national standards governing the use of food additives in food production. These standards specify the types and maximum permitted amounts of additives for different food categories. Food manufacturers must use additives appropriately and within the prescribed scope and limits.
Strict law enforcement:
The use of food additives is a key focus of routine inspections and sampling conducted by market regulatory authorities. When excessive or unauthorized use is discovered, authorities investigate and impose penalties in accordance with the law. Cases suspected of constituting criminal offenses are promptly transferred to public security authorities for criminal prosecution.
Stronger Action Against the Misuse of Food Additives
According to Li Qijian, a senior official with the Food Sampling Inspection Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation, market regulatory authorities continued to adopt a problem-oriented approach in 2025 and strengthened sampling inspections targeting the misuse of food additives.
During the first three quarters of the year, market regulatory authorities nationwide conducted 2.2745 million batches of sampling inspections involving food additive testing items, of which 21,200 batches were found to be non-compliant, representing a non-compliance rate of 0.93%, down 0.02 percentage points from the same period of the previous year.
Sampling was conducted both offline and online. Offline inspections covered wholesale markets, farmers' markets, grocery stores and catering establishments across all 31 provincial-level regions in mainland China. Online inspections covered nine major e-commerce platforms, including Pinduoduo, Douyin and Taobao.
In terms of product categories, inspections focused on 21 major food categories where excessive or unauthorized use of food additives had previously been relatively prominent. Particular attention was paid to products labeled with claims such as “zero food additives,” “no food additives,” “no preservatives” or “no artificial colorants.”
The testing covered 31 inspection items across 10 categories of food additives, focusing primarily on sweeteners, colorants, preservatives, leavening agents, color-fixing agents and bleaching agents.
According to the sampling results, seven major food categories, including beverages, roasted seeds and nuts, and dairy products, had no non-compliant samples detected. Fourteen categories, including grain products, pastries and biscuits, showed varying degrees of non-compliance involving food additives. The main non-compliant items included sulfur dioxide as a bleaching agent, sodium cyclamate as a sweetener, and dehydroacetic acid as a preservative.
“For non-compliant foods and problematic samples identified through sampling inspections, market regulatory authorities promptly conduct investigations and take appropriate action,” Li Qijian said. Authorities require relevant companies to remove or recall non-compliant products, impose administrative penalties in accordance with the law, and transfer suspected criminal cases to judicial authorities for further investigation and prosecution.
Regarding consumer concerns about the use of food additives in products such as meat products, Guo Xiangdan, Deputy Director of the Department of Food Production and Operation of the State Administration for Market Regulation, said that SAMR has formulated revised rules for the examination and approval of meat product production licenses. These rules require meat product manufacturers to use food additives strictly in accordance with food safety standards and clearly specify permitted types and quantities.
SAMR has also developed six risk-control checklists covering areas such as the production of heat-processed cooked meat products, guiding companies to conduct daily controls, weekly inspections and monthly reviews to ensure compliant use of food additives. In addition, inspection guidelines for meat product manufacturers have been developed, with the procurement, storage, use and record-keeping of food additives designated as key areas of routine supervision.