China CBEC concerns: Authorities urge e-commerce supplement firms to play by ‘general trade’ rules

The above is according to Geng Fei Fei, spokeswoman from the quality and safety risk national inspection centre for CBEC trade and products. The centre was formed in October 2016 by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China to assess problems associated with the rising CBEC trade.

Geng was speaking at a talk conducted by the China Chamber Of Commerce For Import & Export Of Medicines & Health Products (CCCMHPIE) held concurrently with Healthplex Expo and Natural & Nutraceutical Products China 2023 in Shanghai on June 19.

In China, health foods, Foods for Special Medical Purposes (FSMP), and foods for infants and toddlers are regulated as special food.

According to Geng, common problems seen in health foods imported into China via CBEC were the presence of components banned in health foods – such as medicines, toxic and harmful components exceeding regulatory limits, fake health claims, and IP infringement.

For example, there were instances of men supplements containing Tadalafil – a medicine used to treat erectile dysfunction and its presence was not stated on the product labels.

Another example is weight management products, especially those from Japan found containing sibutramine – an appetite suppressant.

In addition, there were instances where manuka honey was not detected in products that claimed to be as such, similarly for edible bird’s nest where the key component sialic acid was not detected.

Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), a popular supplement in China during recent years, was also highlighted, where she said that there were cases where the NMN amount stated on the label did not tally to the actual amount found during inspection.

Regulatory requirements​

She emphasised that regulations applied to health foods imported via general trade were applicable to CBEC as well.

This includes the Quarantine Act as well as laws pertaining to the Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine.

Secondly, CBEC products must be approved by the authorities of the country of origin.

“Imported health foods should be products that were permitted to be sold by the regulator of the country of export,”​ she said.

However, she also pointed out that the products should also meet China regulatory requirements. This means that CBEC products permitted in the country of origin cannot be sold in China if it contained ingredients not permitted in China.

Examples included products containing hemp.

Thirdly, in terms of online marketing, companies should not use terms that are not related to the product or could mislead consumers.

“For example, we found that for manuka honey, there were cases where the product is called manuka honey but the product labelling in the original language did not state the term manuka honey, similarly for melatonin as well,” ​she said.

She also urged companies exporting health foods via CBEC to China for the first time to conduct self-inspection, as well as for Japan-imported products to adhere radiation related requirements.