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Nowadays, there are more and more people with "special constitution" in China, but the use rate and awareness rate of special medical food that they "just need" are not high. Many consumers don't know why people with "special physique" recommend eating special medical food
Special medical milk powder is a "just need" for special groups
At present, there are many people in China who need to consume special medical food, including allergies, lactose intolerance, premature birth, low body weight, phenylketonuria and other special physical groups.
According to the "Urban Infant Allergy Epidemiological Survey Project" released by the Maternal and Child Health Center of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 40 parents of infants and young children participated in the survey9% reported that their babies had or were experiencing allergic symptoms. Among them, cow's milk protein allergy is the most common food allergy in infancy and early childhood, and babies with cow's milk protein allergy are suitable for milk protein hydrolyzed formula.
At the same time, the incidence of lactose in infants and young children in China is extremely high, up to 469%-70.0%[1], infant lactose intolerance includes congenital lactose intolerance and acquired transient lactase deficiency, and mothers and fathers can consider giving lactose-free or lactose-low formula to these two types of babies for appropriate intervention.
Preterm births also account for 5 to 15 percent of all births in China, and about 2 3 babies who die within the first year of age are preterm infants [2]. To meet their nutritional needs for catch-up growth, preterm and low birth weight infants should be given preterm low birth weight formula or breast milk supplements.
In addition, epidemiological studies have found that the incidence of phenylketonuria in China is 1:11144 [3], which is a common amino acid metabolism disease. Such babies need to avoid foods containing phenylalanine and eat formula foods with amino acid metabolism disorders.
There are also some people in China who are prone to malnutrition due to restricted eating, digestive and absorption disorders, and metabolic disorders. For children aged 1-10 years and children with digestive and absorption disorders, it is necessary to consume whole nutrition formula for special medical purposes. In addition, the aging of China's population [4] has increased the probability of illness and malnutrition among the elderly, which in turn has increased the demand for special medical food among the elderly.
Although the number of people with special constitution in China is large and increasing year by year, the proportion of people who consume special medical food in China is still low compared with foreign countries. At the same time, some people with special constitutions cannot eat ordinary formula food due to problems such as restricted eating, digestive and absorption disorders, and metabolic disorders, which may affect growth and development, and may even cause their death in severe cases. Therefore, people with special constitutions are not only recommended to consume special medical food, but also need to choose special medical foods that are suitable for them according to their own constitution.
Formula food for special medical purposes, also known as "special medical food", refers to a formula food specially processed and formulated to meet the special needs of nutrients or diet for people with restricted feeding, digestive and absorption disorders, metabolic disorders or specific disease states. It mainly includes infant formula for special medical purposes suitable for people aged 0-12 months and formula for special medical purposes suitable for people over 1 year old.
Provide support at the national policy level.
Based on the huge demand for special medical food in China, the national policy level is also promoting the development of China's special medical food industry. In 2010 and 2013, China issued the National Food Safety Standard General Principles for Infant Formula for Special Medical Purposes and the National Food Safety Standard General Principles for Formula Food for Special Medical Purposes, respectively, which clarified the concept and classification of infant formula for special medical purposes and non-infant formula for special medical purposes.
The Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China in 2015 changed the previous management mode of China's special medical food according to drug registration, and was officially classified as food at the legal level, and formula food for special medical purposes has a legal identity. In 2016, the promulgation of the Administrative Measures for the Registration of Formula Food for Special Medical Purposes marked the production approval and market access of formula food for special medical purposes, and promoted the development of the special medical food industry.
At the end of 2022 and in January 2023, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) both issued guidance policies on special powders, adding new non-nutritional formulas including non-full nutrition formulas for specific diseases and non-specific diseases, refining and clarifying the content of special medical food labels and instructions, and launching the "Little Blue Flower" logo to help special medical food enterprises and brands achieve benign and healthy development.
At the same time, it should be noted that the State Administration for Market Regulation has also revised the Administrative Measures for the Registration of Formula Food for Special Medical Purposes as a key legislative task in 2023, and recently revised and issued the Administrative Measures for the Registration of Formula Food for Special Medical Purposes (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"), which will come into force on January 1, 2024.
The Measures are stricter in terms of product registration and supervision and management, and the management requirements are more refined, encouraging R&D and innovation, standardizing labeling and identification, and safeguarding the rights and interests of consumers. Zhang Zhongpeng, Secretary-General of the China Nutrition and Health Food Association, said that the release of the "Measures" is a major benefit to China's special medical food industry. It can be seen that in recent years, the state has continuously introduced a number of policies related to special medical food, and continued to promote the high-quality development of special medical food.
In addition, in order to stimulate the vitality of the special medical food industry, Jiangsu, Shandong, Hubei, Guangdong, Yunnan and other provinces (municipalities) have successively introduced special medical food related policies, including encouraging the innovation and development of special medical food enterprises, strengthening the capacity building of medical institutions, and including special medical food in the self-payment code of medical insurance, etc., providing policy support for domestic brands to increase the layout of special medical food track.
Enterprises continue to enter the market and professional intensively.
According to the official website of the State Administration for Market Regulation, a total of 49 companies and 144 formula foods for special medical purposes have passed the registration of special medical food. Among the enterprises entering the bureau, in addition to pharmaceutical companies, health care products companies and food enterprises, there are not a few dairy companies. Among them, 15 companies are dairy enterprises, including Nestle, Danone Nutricia, Feihe, Yili, Shengtong Special Medicine, Beinmei, Abbott, Yeepin, and Ming.
1. Ausnutria, Daily Dairy, etc. In addition, on December 15 this year, Junlebao's business scope also added the production of formula food for special medical purposes.
From the perspective of the number of special medical foods in the layout of dairy enterprises, domestic brands account for the majority, among which Shengtong Special Medical has 5 special medical foods that have passed the registration of special medical foods, including special love Qirui, special love Aneng, special love Minjia, special love Ruian, and special love Qineng, 7 Aiyounuo through registration, 4 beinmei through registration, 3 Ausnutria through registration, Feihe, Yipin, Mead Johnson, and Mingyi have passed 2 registrations respectively, and Yili and Tianjin Aosi Dairy have passed 1 registration respectively. Among the non-domestic brands, Nestle has registered 14 special medical foods, Danone Nutricia has registered 7 products, and Wyeth has registered 1 product.
Behind the registration of a number of products, it is also inseparable from the professional intensive cultivation of dairy enterprises. Major dairy companies have made certain achievements in production research and development, product innovation and upgrading, empowering teams and channels, and strengthening the education of consumer special medical categories, which has promoted the progress of the industry and the improvement of consumer awareness to a certain extent. It is expected that in the future, more dairy enterprises will lay out the special medical food track to help the high-quality development of the special medical food industry.
Industry-university-research collaboration helps the development of the industry.
On May 7-8, 2023, under the guidance of the China Medical News and Information Association, the 2023 China Nutrition and Health Industry Forum on Formula Food for Special Medical Purposes was held in Beijing. Among them, the Institute of Nutrition and Health of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Clinical Nutrition Branch of the Chinese Nutrition Society have made suggestions and suggestions on the theme of "scientific and technological innovation and industrial development of special medical food", which is of positive significance for the innovation and development of special medical food in China and the improvement of product quality. On December 6 of the same year, the theme meeting of the "Send You a Little Blue Flower" series of activities initiated by the China Nutrition and Health Food Association was held on People's Daily Online, focusing on issues such as ensuring the safety of special medical food consumption and helping the high-quality development of the special medical food industry.
At the same time, at the two sessions this year, Chen Wei, a representative of the National People's Congress, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and president of Jiangnan University, brought the "Suggestions on Promoting the Development of the Formula Food Industry for Special Medical Purposes". Chen Wei suggested: "On the one hand, improve the construction of regulations and standards for the special medical food industry, and optimize the review and approval processOn the other hand, we will increase support for scientific and technological innovation and enhance industrial competitiveness. In addition, in order to allow more people in need to get the help of special medical food, Professor Shi Hanping of Capital Medical University called for "special medical food needs to be 'three in' - into hospitals, into basic medicine, and into medical insurance".
At present, many universities or research institutes, including Jiangnan University and Ludong University, have also established relevant special food technology innovation centers or special medical food research institutes, which are committed to giving full play to their basic and applied research advantages and forming an innovation model of industry-university-research collaboration.
Nowadays, China's special medical food industry is on the rise, and it is believed that with the support of national policies, the professional intensive cultivation of dairy enterprises, and the joint efforts of industry, education and research, the special medical food industry can continue to develop rapidly and make greater contributions to improving people's healthy living standards.
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References: 1] Li Dongdan, Yan Jie, Yang Yanling. Lactose intolerance and dietary nutrition management[J].CJPP,2022,37(10):758-763
2] Xie Xing et al. Obstetrics and Gynecology [M].People's Medical Publishing House,2014,8,(4):58-61
3] Gao Junjun. Study on PAH gene mutations in children with phenylketonuria[D].Zhengzhou University, 2018
4] Zhu Meiqiao. The special medical food industry will become the next blue oceanChina Food News.