The following guests attended the meeting: Qu Fenghong, Deputy Secretary General of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party; He Baoxiang, Vice Governor of the Hunan Provincial People's Government; Wang Tiehan, Director of Food Safety of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR); Ge Zhirong, former Counsellor of the State Council and former Deputy Director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ); Zhang Fenglou, former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health; Academician Yin Yulong; Academician Ren Fazheng (online); Chen Xianchun, Deputy Secretary General of the Hunan Provincial People's Government; and Bian Zhenjia, Contract Research Fellow of the Counsellors' Office of the State Council and President of the CNHFA.
The pandemic which occurred unexpectedly in 2020 has highlighted the importance of the special food industry, and health has become the most urgent need of the people. At the critical stage of implementing of the Healthy China 2030 Plan and the National Nutrition Plan (2017-2030), the special food industry, as an important link in the Big Health industry chain, has ushered in valuable opportunities.
Qu Fenghong pointed out that the 14th Five-Year Plan marks the first five years of China's new journey to build a modern socialist country, and it is also a strategic period to promote the implementation of the Healthy China Plan. With the continuous development of China's socio-economic conditions and the gradual improvement of people's living standards, health issues have become increasingly important to people. The public's pursuit of health provides a unique development opportunity for the health industry. Over the past two decades, China's population structure has shown a rapid and deepening ageing trend. By 2022, the population aged 65 or above will account for 14% of the total population. The incidence of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and diabetes, has increased rapidly, while chronic diseases have been observed across younger groups. It becomes an urgent need to change unhealthy eating habits and lifestyles and reduce the risk of diseases in order to maintain strong momentum of the health industry. As an important health product, special food is a guarantee for people's high quality of life and an important part of the general health industry. While bringing economic benefits to society, it’s also improving the well-rounded development of the people, contributing to the implementation of the Healthy China plan.
Wang Tiehan noted that the growing needs of the people for a better life have raised new requirements and challenges for the safety, nutrition and efficacy of special food.
Ge Zhirong mentioned that, at present, China's special food development is in a "golden period", and that promoting the high-quality development of the special food industry has become a realistic and urgent issue. He proposed to strengthen the product quality first, enhance consumer confidence, create a fair and standardized market environment, and increase the publicity of special food quality and safety. In addition, the transformation of special food products should, on the one hand, adjust the domestic product structure to meet the diversified needs of domestic consumers; on the other hand, we should leverage resources outside of China to enhance the productivity and international competitiveness of enterprises.
Bian Zhenjia stated that this year is the 5th year of vigorous developing China's special food industry—there are more than 2,000 manufacturing enterprises, more than 1.2 million operational enterprises and more than 6 million employees, with the main business producing an annual revenue of over RMB 600 billion. He added that it is an important industry to ensure people's livelihood, stability, supply and employment. In the past 5 years, the influence of Chinese brands has increased significantly on the international stage. While the domestic and global economy has been in the doldrums due to the pandemic, the special food industry has bucked the trend. In the first three quarters, most special food companies achieved better performance. The current status of our special foods can be summarized as the following: the food for special medical purposes (FSMP) industry is establishing rules and regulations; the health food industry is replacing old rules with new ones; the domestic infant milk powder industry is competing with international brands; and the special food industry is transforming while "climbing over the hurdles".
According to Zhou Shiping, Director of the Special Food Safety Regulation of the SAMR, special food is more relevant to people's nutritional and health requirements, and thus has higher safety requirements compared to ordinary food.
In this regard, Gao Feng, Director of the Center for Food evaluation of the SAMR, highlighted that health food registration should be evaluated to safeguard the rights and interests of consumers, ensure healthy development of the industry, and make sure the registrant is responsible for the products and raw materials.
Zhang Zhiqiang, Head of the Expert Advisory Working Group of the Department of Food Safety and Standards within the National Health Commission pointed out that the Big Health industry and health food must be based on health-related medical science and oriented towards the health needs of consumers.
He Baoxiang mentioned that Hunan is a densely populated province, catalyzing huge demand for infant milk powder and FSMP in China. The province is now implementing international standards, independently and boldly, to create a market-oriented, legalized and international business environment for enterprises both inside and outside of the province. In the next three to five years, Hunan's food industry will see explosive growth and welcome a rare opportunity.
Chen Yuewen, Deputy Director-General of Hunan Provincial Market Regulation, mentioned that there are currently 37 special food enterprises, 33 health food enterprises and 4 infant formula milk powder enterprises in Hunan. In addition, there are nearly 40,000 operational businesses. Despite the small volume, they all maintain a strong momentum of development and present a vigorous vitality.
At the academic forum, academicians such as Yin Yulong shared his latest research findings.
The Public Nutritionist Vocational Skills Assessment Centre was also established at the opening ceremony. Ge Hengshuang, Inspector (Level II) of the Vocational Skills Assessment Centre of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said that it is important to build a talent pool for the industry and that national vocational skills standards for training public nutritionists and meal planners are being developed.
The following sessions were held: the 2020 T20 Summit Forum on Special Food Industry; the 2020 National Symposium for Presidents of Social Organizations in the Nutrition and Health Food Industry; the 4th China Health Food Conference and Special Food Raw Materials and Excipients Development Forum and Health Food Innovation Development Forum; the 5th China FSMP Conference and FSMP Industry Development Forum plus FSMP Application Academic Conference; the 4th China International Infant Complementary Food Industry Development Forum and 2020 China Maternal and Infant Nutrition Education Summit; the Personalized Nutrition and Industry Development Forum; the 2020 China Probiotics Development Forum and Oral Health Summit; the 4th China Infant and Young Child Formula Industry Development Forum; and the 2020 China Probiotics Development Forum and Oral Health Summit.
The conference will last for three days with ten events and is expected to attract nearly 100 authoritative experts and more than 1,800 delegates. As an authoritative industry conference in the special food field, the China Special Food Conference has built a platform for participants to establish, discuss and share ideas. It has gradually become one of the influential branded events in the food industry, promoting the development of China's special food industry and facilitating exchanges and cooperation among government, academics, and industry enterprises.
Since its establishment in 2015, the CNHFA has served as a national food industry organization under the supervision of SAMR has been committed to maintain the health and harmony of the government, the industry and the public; safeguarding the interests of the consumers; providing appropriate services to bridge the gap in the nutrition and health field; fulfilling the responsibilities to participate in, advocate, and practice regulatory compliance; disseminating science; and promoting the development of the industry to benefit public health.
