Non-edible substances are not food additives

On the 13th, the Ministry of Health stated that food safety standards and food additives related issues, non-food substances are not food additives.

The Ministry of Health pointed out that non-food substances are not food additives. Adding non-edible substances to foods is a crime that seriously threatens the food safety of the people. It is also an illegal crime that hinders the healthy development of the food industry in China and undermines the socialist market economic order.

For a long time, some units have confused the boundaries between food additives and non-edible substances and will engage in criminal activities. The addition of non-edible substances (such as malachite green, Sudan red, etc.) to foods is called additives, and misuse of non-edible substances is added. The resulting food safety incident boils down to abuse of food additives.

The Ministry of Health stated that since the rectification of the illegal addition of non-edible substances and abuse of food additives, the Ministry of Health has established a system of illegally adding “blacklists” together with related departments, and announced a total of 47 "unlawfully added non-food substances" in five batches. None of these 47 substances are food additives.