What makes NRFs different from nutraceuticals?

In recent years, with the rapid development of science and technology and the continuous progress of food production technology, people’s table food more and more kinds of food, some have never heard of the new food also appeared in the market in large quantities.
New resource foods is a new term, the face of a wide variety of new resource foods, many consumers feel very strange, and some are half-knowledge, that is, with health care functions of the food, so as to enter the consumption of the wrong zone. So, what is the difference between new resource foods and health foods? How safe is it? What issues should be noted when purchasing and consuming? What is new resource food?
According to the Measures for the Administration of New Resource Foods issued by the Ministry of Health, new resource foods refer to “food raw materials that are not customarily consumed in our country and are in line with the basic attributes of food”. It mainly includes the following four categories:
(1) Animals, plants and microorganisms that have not been customarily consumed by residents of China before;
(2) Food raw materials separated from animals, plants and microorganisms that have not been habitually consumed by the residents of China before, including the ingredients separated and extracted from plants and animals that have certain effects on the human body;
(3) New varieties of microorganisms used in food processing;
(4) Food raw materials whose original composition or structure of food has been changed as a result of the adoption of a new process of production.
Experts pointed out that although many consumers of new resource foods feel very strange, but in fact it is related to people’s daily life habits, has long been an indispensable and important part of human food, and in the structure of human diet plays an increasingly important role. For example, people frying by genetically modified soybeans, corn processed cooking oil, the use of cactus, aloe vera, scorpion made of a variety of dishes, dairy products added bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus acidophilus, some of the food added phytosterols, sugar alcohols, amino acids, spirulina, oligosaccharides, sodium hyaluronate, lutein esters, L-arabinose, short-stemmed five, Aloe barbadensis Curacao gel, and so on, all belong to the new resources! Food category. It is reported that the Ministry of Health has reviewed and approved more than 300 new resource foods.

New Resource Foods are different from Health Foods
As new resource food is a new term for food that has not yet been familiar to people, and in recent years, some businessmen have been publicizing its various health functions in their marketing, resulting in many consumers believing that it is health food, and tend to associate it with health food in their daily life, thus easily stepping into the consumption misunderstanding.
It is true that some health foods are processed from new resource foods as raw materials, but new resource foods are not equivalent to health foods. According to the relevant provisions, health food is suitable for consumption by specific groups of people, has the function of regulating the body, not for the purpose of treating disease food; and new resource food is commonly referred to as new resource raw materials made of people who have not had the habit of eating food.
The biggest difference between health food and new resource food is that health food refers to food with specific health functions, and which health functions must be clearly marked on the product label; while according to the Measures for the Administration of New Resource Food, the production and operation of new resource food shall not claim or imply that it has curative effects and specific health functions. In addition, new resource foods and health foods are applicable to different groups of people, the former is applicable to the general population, while the latter is suitable for consumption by specific groups of people.
Safety of New Resource Foods
Although new resource food is a kind of food, it has many unique features compared with traditional food, especially that it is “not customarily consumed in our country” before it is approved to be listed on the market, so its safety is very important. For this reason, the Measures for the Administration of New Resource Foods clearly stipulates that new resource foods shall comply with food safety and hygiene laws, regulations, and relevant rules and standards, and shall not produce any acute, subacute, chronic or other potential health hazards to the human body. According to the requirements, new resource foods in China must undergo rigorous evaluation, through the Ministry of Health of the country’s examination and approval, to confirm the harmlessness to human health before entering the market; for the unapproved and announced as a new resource food, shall not be used as food or food raw materials production and operation and use.
China adopts the internationally recognized principles of risk assessment and substantial equivalence for the safety evaluation of new resource foods; in terms of the content of the evaluation, it includes not only the review of technical information and production sites when the new resource foods are declared, but also the re-evaluation of the safety of consumption by the population after the products have been put on the market. In terms of assessment experts, the Ministry of Health organizes an assessment committee composed of experts in the fields of food hygiene, toxicology, nutrition, microbiology, technology and chemistry to be responsible for the evaluation of the safety of new resource foods, thus ensuring the objectivity and scientificity of the evaluation results.
At the same time, the Ministry of Health will also publicize the list of new resource foods that have been reviewed and approved to the society. According to the characteristics of different new resource foods, the content of the announcement generally includes the name, species, source, biological characteristics, the use of technology, the main ingredients, edible parts, the amount of use, the scope of use, the consumption of people, contraindications to the population, the amount of consumption and quality standards, etc. For microorganisms, the announcement of the strain number is required at the same time. Since new resource foods are not static, the Ministry of Health will also classify new resource foods that can be regarded as ordinary foods into ordinary foods for management according to the specific use situation after listing. Therefore, the safety of new resource foods that have passed evaluation and approval is guaranteed as long as there are no problems during production, processing and transportation.
How to Choose New Resource Foods Correctly
As new resource foods belong to special foods, their species are complex, from a wide range of sources, with different biological characteristics, consumers should pay special attention to checking the labels of new resource foods to see if they are consistent with the content of the announcement of the Ministry of Health when choosing new resource foods; if new resource foods are contained in the food products, see if the labels are in line with the relevant national regulations, so as to correctly grasp the edible parts, the scope of use, the use of quantities, the appropriate food, the crowd, the contraindicated population, etc., so as to avoid the use of new resource foods and to avoid the use of new resource foods. The food products contain new resource foods, so as to correctly grasp the edible parts, scope of use, use amount, food suitable for the crowd, taboo crowd, etc., so as not to jeopardize their own health.
For example, although aloe vera is included in the list of new resource foods, there are many kinds of aloe vera, known to be more than 300 kinds, most of which are ornamental aloe vera that cannot be eaten or used medicinally, and the only aloe vera that can be eaten are aloe vera including Aloe vera Curaçao (commonly known as American Aloe Vera), spotted aloe vera (also known as Chinese Aloe Vera), and aloe vera with large leaves in the upper farm. Among them, Aloe vera Curaçao is the most widely used variety, which is rich in gel and can be processed to extract Aloe vera juice, concentrated juice, Aloe vera crystal powder, and its fresh leaves can also be consumed directly. When consuming aloe vera, you can use the fresh leafy part of aloe vera, and for safety reasons, the skin of aloe vera should be removed. However, if you can’t distinguish the species of aloe vera, you can’t consume it hastily because some aloe vera contains toxicity, which may cause poisonous reaction or even jeopardize the safety of your life when you consume it accidentally.
According to the announcement of the Ministry of Health and other 6 ministries and bureaus on the labeling regulations of food containing Aloe vera gel, only Aloe vera gel can be used for food production and processing. Curaçao aloe vera gel comes from the edible part of the gel meat of Curaçao aloe vera leaves, which is made from the leaves of Curaçao aloe vera, and can be used in all kinds of food, but the daily consumption shall not be more than 30 grams, otherwise, overdose may cause diarrhea or miscarriage, so it is not suitable for pregnant women, infants and young children to consume. According to the relevant provisions, in the market sale of food added with Aloe vera Curaçao gel must be labeled “this product added aloe vera, pregnant women and infants and young children with caution”, its food ingredients list should be labeled “Aloe vera Curaçao gel”, but in the food packaging or the main page of the view Food name can choose to label only “aloe vera”, consumers should be careful when buying.
Cordyceps belongs to new resource food, mainly used in alcohol, canned food, condiments, beverages and other food, but the daily consumption per person shall not exceed 2 grams; at the same time, due to the cordyceps may cause allergies, cause swallowing disorders in children, may also cause precocious puberty, so children and those who are allergic to edible fungi should not be consumed.
For example, inulin is a white powder obtained by spray drying after removing protein and minerals from chicory root as raw material, and was approved by the Ministry of Health in March 2009 as a new resource food, which can be used in all kinds of food except baby food, but the daily consumption shall not be more than 15 grams.
Oligogalactose is a colorless transparent or light yellow syrup obtained by hydrolysis, galactoside transfer and other biochemical reactions using lactose in cow’s milk as raw material, and was approved by the Ministry of Health in September 2008 as a new resource food, which can be used in baby food, dairy products, beverages, baked goods and candies, but according to the regulations, the daily consumption should be no more than 15 grams. Therefore, when choosing these foods, you should pay attention to check the labels for the amount of oligogalactose content to avoid excessive intake.
As new resource foods are generally not tested over a long period of time and are directly imported, the safety issue is particularly prominent. Therefore, the relevant departments should strengthen the regular assessment of the safety of new resource foods, and the production, processing and sales of strict supervision, from the source to protect the safety of listed products; consumers face a wide range of new concepts, new functional foods should be rational choice, and strictly in accordance with the relevant requirements to ensure the safety and health of consumption.