In recent years, the solid beverage market in China has encountered a series of issues, notably including irregular labeling, false advertising , and illegal sales. The State Administration for Market Regulation has taken a series of measures to standardize and rectify the solid beverage market , strengthening the supervision of the quality and safety of solid beverages, including regulations on the labeling of solid beverages. In addition to the "National Food Safety Standard - General Rules for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods" (GB 7718-2011) and the "National Food Safety Standard - General Rules for Nutrition Labeling of Prepackaged Foods" (GB 28050-2011), what other items on solid beverage labels require special attention? Foodmate has summarized them for your reference.
1. The name for Solid Beverages
Scope of Application: All Solid Beverages
Source: Announcement of the State Administration for Market Regulation on Strengthening the Quality and Safety Supervision of Solid Beverages
Requirement: the name of solid beverage should not be the same as the name of any special food that has been approved and released; the special name "solid beverage"（固体饮料）, which reflects the true nature of the food, shall be prominently displayed on the product label, and the size of "solid beverage" shall not be smaller than any other text (including words of trademarks, patterns, etc.) on the same display panel.
2. Warning Statement / Cautionary Language
Application Scope: The minimum sales unit of powdered protein beverage, powdered botanical beverage, powdered flavored beverage, and solid beverages with added bacterial species, which are directly provided to consumers.
Source: Announcement of the State Administration for Market Regulation on Strengthening the Quality and Safety Supervision of Solid Beverages
Requirement: the warning information "This product can not replace special foods such as formula food for special medical purpose, formula food for infants and young children, health food, etc."（本产品不能代替特殊医学用途配方食品、婴幼儿配方食品、保健食品等特殊食品）shall be marked on the same display panel as the food name, and its area shall not be less than 20% of its surface. The warning text shall be printed in bold type, and there should be a significant color contrast between the warning text and the background of the warning information area.
3. Labeling about Edible Bacterial Strains
Application Scope: Solid Beverages with Added Bacterial species
Source: National Food Safety Standard for Beverages (GB 7101-2022)
Requirement: The labels of solid beverages with added bacteria species shall be indicated with either live (unsterilized) or non-live (sterilized) types. For live (unsterilized) products with added lactic acid bacteria, the amount of lactic acid bacteria shall be indicated on the product label, and the lactic acid bacteria count shall be ≥106 CFU/g(mL).
4. Storage and Transportation Conditions
Application Scope: Solid beverages that require refrigeration or freezing for storage and transportation
Source: National Food Safety Standard for Beverages (GB 7101-2022)
Requirement: The storage and transportation conditions shall be clearly indicated on the label, and only indicating the storage conditions does not meet the standard requirements.
Precautions
The "Announcement of the State Administration for Market Regulation on Strengthening the Quality and Safety Supervision of Solid Beverages" specifically emphasizes that solid beverages must not use words or patterns to explicitly, implicitly, or emphatically indicate that the product is suitable for specific groups such as minors, the elderly, pregnant and lactating women, patients, individuals with nutritional risks or malnutrition, etc. Furthermore, the use of production processes, raw material names, or other information that explicitly or implicitly indicate disease prevention, treatment functions, health functions, or meeting the special needs of specific disease groups is prohibited.
Solid beverage manufacturers should properly label the products in accordance with relevant standards and regulations to provide consumers with accurate and comprehensive product information, while avoiding false propaganda and illegal sales.
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