China NHC Newly Approved 5 New Food Raw Materials, 11 New Food Additives, and 6 Food-related Products

On Febuary 5, 2026, National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China (NHC) issued an announcement (No. 1 of 2026) for “Three New Foods” with 22 products approved, including 5 new food raw materials, 11 new food additives, and 6 food-related products.

Details are as follows:

New food raw materials (5 types)

Gardenia oil

Name	Gardenia oil
Basic information	Source: fruit of Gardenia jasminoides J.Ellis
Brief introduction of production process	Made from the dried ripe fruit of Gardenia jasminoides as raw material, processed through pressing, extraction, degumming, deacidification, decolorization, deodorization, and dewaxing.
Specifications	Appearance	Light yellow to yellow oily liquid
	Fatty acid composition (percentage of total fatty acids):
	Oleic acid (C18:1), %	≥ 20.0
	Linoleic acid (C18:2), %	≥ 45.0
Other information	The scope of use does not include infant and young children foods. Food safety indicators shall comply with the requirements for vegetable oils and fats as specified in the current Chinese National Food Safety Standards.

XiangYu peony flower

Name

XiangYu peony flower

Basic information

Source: flowers of Paeonia suf ruticosa ‘Xiang Yu’

Other information

Not suitable for infants, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers. Labels and instructions must indicate unsuitable populations and consumption limits.

Food safety indicators shall comply with the requirements for other vegetables as specified in the current Chinese National Food Safety Standards.

Alginate oligosaccharide

Name	Alginate oligosaccharide
Basic information	Molecular formula:
Brief introduction of production process	Made from sodium alginate derived from brown algae such as kelp, sargassum, giant kelp, and bladder wrack, processed through hydrochloric acid dissolution, high-temperature degradation, sodium hydroxide neutralization, decolorization, purification, concentration, and drying.
Recommended intake	≤ 4 g/day (calculated based on a brown alginate oligosaccharide content of 90.0 g/100 g; products with higher content shall be converted according to the actual content).
Other information	Not suitable for infants, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers. Labels and instructions must indicate unsuitable populations and consumption limits. Quality specifications and food safety indicators see Appendix.

Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis YLGB-1496

Name

Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis LMG11588

Other information

The strain is approved and included in the List of Microorganisms That Can Be Used in Food.

The food safety indicators shall comply with the requirements of the National Food Safety Standard for Microbial Preparations Used in Food Processing (GB 31639). Cronobacter spp. must not be detected (per 100 g).

Camelina seed oil

Name	Camelina seed oil
Basic information	Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz
Brief introduction of production process	Made from Camelina sativa seeds as raw material, processed through screening, pressing, sedimentation, and filtration.
Specifications	Properties	Light yellow to brown yellow oily liquid
	Fatty acid composition (percentage of total fatty acids)
	Oleic acid (C18:1), %	≥10.0
	Linoleic acid (C18:2), %	≥13.0
	α-Linolenic acid (C18:3), %	≥ 25.0
	Nervonic acid (C24:1), %	≥ 0.5
	Erucic acid (C22:1), %	≤ 4.5
Other information	The scope of use does not include infant and young children foods. Food safety indicators shall comply with the requirements for vegetable oils and fats as specified in the current Chinese National Food Safety Standards.

New food additives (11 types)

New food enzymes

No.	Enzyme	Source	Donor
1	D-psicose 3-epimerase	Bacillus subtilis	Agrobacterium tumefaciensC58
2	Glucose isomerase (xylose isomerase)	168-N03 Bacillus subtilis 168-N03	Streptomyces murinus
3	Deaminase	Streptomyces murinus	-
4	Sucrose 1-fructosyltransferase	Aspergillus japonicus	-

The quality specifications for enzymes used in the food industry shall comply with the provisions outlined in the National Food Safety Standard for Food Additives – Enzymes for Food Industry (GB 1886.174).

New food nutrition enhancer

3’-Sialyllactose sodium salt, 3’-SL

Food Cat.	Product Name	Usage Level	Note
01.03.02	Modified milk powder (limited to milk powder for children)	0.06-0.28 g/L (Calculated on a pure substance basis and as consumed; for powdered products, the use level shall be converted according to the reconstitution ratio.)	When used in combination with 2’-Fucosyllactose (2’-FL), Lacto-N-neotetraose (LNnT), Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), Polydextrose, and Raffinose, the total amount of these substances shall not exceed 64.5 g/kg.
13.01.01	Infant formula
13.01.02	Older infants and young children formula
13.01.03	Infant formula for special medical purposes

Quality Specifications

This quality specification is applicable to the nutrition enhancer 3’-Sialyllactose sodium salt, produced using lactose and other materials as raw materials through fermentation, purification, and drying processes. The production strain used for manufacturing 3’-Sialyllactose sodium salt shall undergo a safety assessment and comply with the requirements specified in Appendix A.

New food additives with expanded scope

No.	Name	Function	Cat.	Food Name	Maximum Level (g/kg)	Note
1	Carbon dioxide	Other	14.01.02	Drinking purified water	Used as needed for production	-
1	Carbon dioxide	Other	14.01.03	Other types of drinking water	Used as needed for production	-
2	Gellan gum	Thickener	01.05.01	Light cream	Used as needed for production	-

Processing aids with expanded scope

No.	Name	Function	Application scope
1	bentonite	Clarifying agent	Starch syrup (limited to resistant dextrin) processing method

Food additives with supplementary quality specification

trans-Anethole

Function: food spice

Quality Specifications

This quality specification applies to the food additive Anethole, produced from propionic acid, acetic anhydride, and methyl benzoate as raw materials through chemical reaction.

2’-fucosyllactose，2’-FL

Application scope, usage level and specifications: The application scope and specification for 2'-Fucosyllactose shall follow the Announcement No. 8 of 2023 issued by the National Health Commission (except for the information on the production strains used for 2'-Fucosyllactose production in Appendix C). The information on the production strains for this new nutrition enhancer is provided in the table below.

Nutrition enhancer

Source

Donor

2’-fucosyllactose

Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)

Escherichia coli

Kluyveromyces lactis

DSM70799

Bacillus spp.

Lacto-N-neotetraose

Function: food nutrition enhancer

Quality Specifications

The quality specifications for this substance shall be implemented in accordance with Announcement No. 8 of 2023 issued by the National Health Commission (except for the production strain information for Lacto-N-neotetraose listed in Appendix D). The production strain information for this new variety of nutritional fortifier is shown in the table below.

Nutrition enhancer	Source	Donor
Lacto-N-neotetraose	Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655	Neisseria spp. and Helicobacter spp.
Lacto-N-neotetraose	Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)	Neisseria meningitidis and Aggregatibacter kilianii

New food-related products (6 types)

Food contact additives with expanded use scope/level

Name	CAS number	Range of application	Maximum level
Calcium sulfate	7778-18-9	PLA	20
Erucamide; cis-13-Docosenamide	112-84-5	PVC	2.7

Food contact additives

Name	CAS number	Range of application	Maximum level
Cobalt bis (2-ethylhexanoate)	136-52-7	UP	0.02

New food contact resin

Name	CAS number	Range of application	Maximum level
Poly(ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate)	28728-19-0	Plastic	Use as needed in production
Copolymer of ethyl acrylate, methacrylic acid and styrene	25035-68-1	Coatings and pants	35
1,3-benzenedicarboxylic acid polymer with 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, decanedioic acid and 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-propanediol	1345820-69-0	Coatings and pants	75

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