Shanghai holds a symposium on infant formula milk powder import companies

Yesterday, the Health Food Evaluation Center of the State Food and Drug Administration held a symposium on infant formula milk powder import companies in Shanghai. According to the information disclosed at the meeting, only about 40% of the import companies have completed the registration of the milk powder formula. 'The review center reminds companies to hurry up to apply, and at the same time emphasizes that the transition period will not be extended.' At the above meeting, the review agency introduced the overall situation of the company's application for milk powder formula registration at this stage: a total of 665 reports have been received for registration. Among them, 531 were domestic and 134 were foreign, involving 75 domestic enterprises and 26 foreign enterprises. Of the 168 submitted by 42 companies, all comments have been received.　　 According to Article 19 of the 'Administrative Measures for the Registration of Infant and Young Children Formula Milk Powder Product Formula' issued by the State Food and Drug Administration last year, if the review agency believes that the applicant needs to supplement the materials, it shall notify all the contents that need to be supplemented and corrected at one time. The applicant shall supplement and correct the materials once in accordance with the requirements of the supplementary notice within 3 months. The time for supplementing and correcting materials will not be counted in the review time.　　 This also means that the above-mentioned 168 pieces of supplementary opinions have basically gone to the 'last link' of enterprise registration. 'After the company submits the supplementary materials, if there are no other errors or major problems, the next step in accordance with the process is to wait for the regulatory authorities to issue a conclusion on whether to approve the registration.' The above-mentioned insider said.　　 The 'Administrative Measures for the Registration of Infant Formula Milk Powder Product Formula' officially released last year was hailed as 'the most stringent new policy for milk powder in history' (hereinafter referred to as the 'Measures'). The 'Measures' require that no matter whether domestic or imported milk powder, each enterprise shall in principle not exceed 3 formula series and 9 product formulas.　　According to regulations, the registration period for existing products and existing brands of companies is until January 1, 2018. Starting from 2018, if these infant formula milk powders want to be sold in the Chinese market, they must obtain a product registration certificate. Unregistered formula foods for special medical purposes and infant formula milk powder imported from abroad that have not been registered but before January 1, 2018 (excluding January 1, 2018) with the approval of relevant departments can be sold in my country until the end of their shelf life .　　　　 It is worth noting that the above-mentioned industry insiders quoted the meeting and pointed out that the number of imported milk powder companies that have already submitted registration only accounts for about 40% of the total.　　 According to the person, the review agency once again reminded companies that did not submit a report at the meeting yesterday to hurry up and 'don't wait and see anymore.' At the same time, it is emphasized that the relevant policies that have been announced will not be changed, and the 'maximum' of the transition period on January 1, 2018 will not be delayed.　　 Based on the previously published data, there are currently 108 domestic infant formula milk powder companies and 77 import companies. Calculated based on 9 formulas for each company, there are about 1,600 formulas that need to be registered. Why are there still so many imported companies that have not submitted a milk powder formula registration system? 　　 In this regard, Liu Xuecong, secretary general of the China Nutrition and Health Food Association, analyzed that some larger, higher-sale imported milk powder companies announced milk powder formulas in the State Food and Drug Administration. After the registration system, hurry up and prepare the application materials.　　 He believes that these companies already have the qualifications to declare milk powder formula registration, and they have strong reporting capabilities. At the same time, they also have talent advantages in terms of laws and regulations, so the reporting process is relatively smooth.　　 Some small and medium-sized enterprises have just begun to take a wait-and-see attitude towards the milk powder formula registration system, and they are slower than large companies. When carrying out a mobile report, it is often found that companies lack sufficient professional support in researching regulations and other aspects, and they are not thorough in the research of regulations, which ultimately results in delays in reporting. 'Most of the unreported ones are small and medium-sized enterprises, such as some milk powder brands previously sold through cross-border e-commerce.' Liu Xuecong pointed out.　　 Another noteworthy information is that it was mentioned at the meeting that liquid milk formula for infants and young children (hereinafter referred to as 'liquid milk for infants') also requires formula registration.　　 According to the industry insider, there are different opinions in the industry as to whether liquid milk for infants needs to be registered in the same way as infant formula milk powder. 'On the one hand, according to the national standard, liquid milk for infants also belongs to the category of formula food for infants and young children. According to this logic, liquid milk for infants should also need to apply for formula registration.' He said, 'but according to the 'MeasuresInfant formula milk powder products', then is the infant liquid milk in it?” 　　 The above-mentioned industry insiders also said that the same are infant formula foods. If only milk powder needs to apply for formula registration, liquid milk is not required. That is not the case for the former. Said 'too unfair'. However, although at yesterday's meeting, the review agency publicly stated that infant liquid milk needs to be registered, it is still unclear whether it will eventually become a “fixed issue”.　　 In fact, there are not many infant liquid milks currently on the market, and only a few brands have such products, which are still unable to compare with the recognition of infant formula milk powder for the time being.　　 After the introduction of various regulations, the domestic milk powder market may change.