The Fourth China Infant Complementary Food Industry Development Forum Held in Changsha_Local Updates_News and Media

　　On November 3, the fourth China Infant Supplementary Food Industry Development Forum was held in Changsha. The meeting was organized by the CNHFA and hosted by Wu Zhicheng from the Quality Inspection and Testing Center for Processed Foods (Guangdong).

　　With the improvement of living standards, the change of consumer attitudes and the introduction of policies to improve the nutritional level of the population, China's infant supplementary food industry has entered a period of rapid development. The market size reached about RMB 10 billion in 2012 and exceeded RMB 40 billion in 2019, with a compound annual growth rate of 23%. Some data show that the total output will reach 250,300 tons in 2024.

　　The new generation of mothers are generally highly educated and more receptive to new things. As the concept of complementary feeding is constantly updated, consumers demand for higher safety and functionality of complementary feeding products.

　　Bi Yu'an, Inspector of the SAMR Food Production Safety Supervision Department, noted that the self-inspection rate of infant complementary food enterprises reached 100% in 2020, and the self-inspection risk reporting rate reached 100%. The pass rate of sampling inspection in the first half of 2020 was 98.79%, increasing by 0.11% year-on-year. In addition, chromium content within the infant complementary products did not exceed the limit set for such products.

　　A number of experts discussed the development of infant complementary food products, including Liu Suiqian, Clinical Dietitian at Beijing United Family Healthcare (UFH), and Yin Shi'an, Researcher at the Institute for Nutrition and Health of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. Yin Shi’an mentioned that the development of complementary foods in China started as early as the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1990s, we developed paste-based products, and these products matured in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He believes that complementary foods for infants can definitely be more than just food, not only can it curb infants' hunger and provide nutrition and energy; it can also play an important role in their overall growth and development and improve their swallowing ability.

　　Mao Meng, Chief Scientist of the CNHFA Infant Complementary Food Professional Committee and Professor of the West China Second University Hospital (WCSUH), mentioned that infant complementary food plays a very crucial role in the growth of children and must be added when appropriate to do so.

　　Cai Weihong, Director of the CNHFA Infant Complementary Food Professional Committee and Deputy Director of the Quality Inspection and Testing Center for Processed Foods (Guangdong), suggested that the industry should focus on four issues: adjustment of production licenses, creation of innovation-, automation- and information-based manufacturing equipment, diversification of products, and risk prevention.

　　Yang Yantao, Rotating Chairman of the CNHFA's Infant Complementary Food Professional Committee, pointed out that the growth rate of the infant complementary food industry is about five times that of the infant formula industry, and this growth trend will continue in the future. He believes that the future direction of industry development and research lies in providing children with more nutritious products that help children develop their early-stage sensory and motor functions on the basis of science; borrowing from overseas products with rich varieties and different textures; developing new products by integrating traditional ingredients; and providing functional complementary food products.

　　At the meeting, Qu Pengfeng, Assistant Researcher of the Applied Nutrition Department of the National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, spoke about the progress of the revision of China's infant complementary food standards; Mao Meng, Chief Scientist of the CNHFA Infant Complementary Food Professional Committee and Professor of the West China Second University Hospital (WCSUH), explained the science behind family pregnancy and childbirth; Sun Zhongchao, Secretary General of the National Animal Health and Food Safety Innovation Alliance, talked about infant food safety and traceability; Zhao Yinan, Senior Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Manager of Nestle (China) Co., Ltd, Cheng Shaohui, Regulatory Affairs Director of Sunny Fields Trading (Shenzhen) Limited, Yu Jing, Product Manager of Hunan Yingshi Dairy Co. Ltd., gave keynote speeches on infant complementary food safety, regulatory requirements, market trends, complementary feeding in stages and other topics.