China's "Three New Foods": Regulatory Framework & Approvals

What Are "Three New Foods"

According to Article 37 of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, the term "Three New Foods" refers to "novel food ingredients," "new varieties of food additives," and "new varieties of food-related products."

In accordance with the Food Safety Law and its implementing regulations, Administrative Measures for Safety Review of New Food Raw Materials, Measures for the Administration of New Varieties of Food Additives, and Provisions on the Administration of Licensing of New Varieties of Food-related Products, China applies an administrative licensing system to "Three New Foods." Under this framework, any entity that manufactures food using novel food ingredients, or produces new varieties of food additives or new varieties of food-related products, is required to submit safety assessment documentation to the health administrative department under the State Council. The said department shall organize a review within 60 days of receiving the application; where the food is determined to meet food safety requirements, a license shall be granted and publicly announced; where the food fails to meet such requirements, the license shall be refused, with the reasons provided in writing.

Compilation of "Three New Foods" Approval Items (2009–Present)

Currently, the National Health Commission (NHC) is responsible for the administrative licensing of "Three New Foods," and has designated the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) to organize the technical review and related evaluation work for "Three New Foods."

The National Health Commission issued the Announcement on the Catalog of "Three New Foods" and Applicable National Food Safety Standards (Announcement No. 4 of 2023) on 19 April 2023, and published it on its website on 10 May 2023. The announcement consolidated the "Three New Foods" approval items and applicable national food safety standards announced from 2009 to 2021. Its novel food ingredient catalog excludes microbial strains.

The approval items represented in the official catalog and subsequent announcements are compiled below:

Based on a mechanical aggregation of the approval items listed in the table, 154 novel food ingredient approval items, 357 food additive approval items, and 343 food-related product approval items are represented, for a total of 854 approval items. These figures have not been deduplicated, and the pre-2022 baseline for novel food ingredients excludes microbial strains. Accordingly, they should not be interpreted as the cumulative number of unique, currently effective approved substances.

Based on announcement year, seven novel food ingredient approval items were included in 2020 announcements, compared with 15 in 2025; 12 had been announced in 2026 as of 27 May 2026. Annual figures have fluctuated rather than increasing steadily, but the recent volume indicates sustained regulatory activity and continued industry interest in novel food ingredient applications.

Compilation of Novel Food Ingredient Approval Entries (2020–Present)

Note: This table is a historical compilation of approval entries rather than a deduplicated list of currently effective ingredients. The same ingredient name may appear more than once where different production processes, sources, or approval conditions were assessed. Where a later announcement supersedes earlier information, the latest announcement applies. Publication dates are the dates shown on the National Health Commission notification pages.