Major Changes to National Standards for Food Additives in 2025

The new National Food Safety Standard for Food Additive Usage (GB 2760—2024) will officially take effect on February 8, 2025, and the current 2014 standard will be abolished. The State Administration for Market Regulation urges all food production enterprises to prepare in advance to ensure compliance with the new standards for using food additives.

The changes in the new standard are substantial and have a wide-ranging impact, almost covering all food production enterprises. First, the new standard modifies the way food additive usage regulations are queried, and the content structure of appendices and tables has significantly changed. Therefore, the food safety management personnel of relevant enterprises must promptly learn and understand these changes to ensure correct implementation of the new standard. Second, the new standard revises the usage scope and limits for certain preservatives, food flavorings, and processing aids, and adds total quantity requirements when certain sweeteners are used together within the same food category. These changes involve numerous food categories, and relevant production enterprises should strictly compare with the new standard, promptly adjusting product raw material processes, product formulations, and label identifications to ensure that the use of food additives complies with the regulations of the new standard. Third, food production enterprises should update food label content in line with the adjustments of product formulations and implementation of standards, including changes in storage and transportation methods, shelf life, and other information, and standardize labeling to ensure compliance with relevant national standards.