What are vitamins?

Nowadays, a variety of vitamin products on the market to overwhelm people, vitamins as essential micronutrients, widely available in general food, health food and food for special dietary use in various types of food, then, how to categorize common vitamins? What are the national regulations on the application of vitamins in various types of food? And what are the different functions of vitamins in various types of food? FoodPartner.com has organized the relevant contents for your reference. Concept and Classification of Vitamins
According to the recommended national standard “Basic Terminology of Food Industry” (GB/T 15091-1994) and WS/T 578 series of standards “Dietary Nutrient Reference Intake for Chinese Residents”, vitamin refers to the general term for a class of low molecular organic compounds necessary to promote biological growth and development and regulate physiological functions. Divided into fat-soluble vitamins and water-soluble vitamins.
Fat-soluble vitamins are soluble in organic solvents and insoluble in water of a class of vitamins, including vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K. Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed and transported with lipoproteins or some special proteins, which can be stored in the body, slow excretion, and if too much is ingested, it can cause accumulation of toxicity.
Water-soluble vitamins are water-soluble vitamins, including vitamin B (vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid, folic acid, niacin, choline, biotin) and vitamin C. Water-soluble vitamins in the body only a few hours of retention, must be replenished every day, but we should also grasp the right amount of the right time and the right amount of the principle of consumption.
Vitamin application basis and function
1. In the application of ordinary food in ordinary food, according to the “National Standard for Food Safety Food Additives” (GB 2760), vitamins are used as food additives, with the function of flour treatment agent, antioxidant and so on. In order to ensure that food processing can be carried out smoothly, vitamins are also used as processing aids for the food industry. For example, B vitamins are used as nutrients for fermentation in the fermentation process.
According to the former Ministry of Health’s Q&A on the National Standard for Food Safety Standards for the Use of Food Nutritional Fortifiers (GB 14880-2012), some of the substances that belong to both nutritional fortifiers and food additives, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, etc., should comply with the requirements of the National Standard for Food Safety Standards for the Use of Food Additives (GB 2760) if they are used as food additives. Requirements.
If they are used for the purpose of nutritional fortification, their use shall comply with the provisions of the Standard for the Use of Nutritional Fortifiers in Foods of the National Standard for Food Safety (GB 14880), and the scope of use of nutritional fortifiers in foods and the amount of use of nutritional fortifiers shall be in accordance with the requirements of Appendix A of the Standard for the Use of Nutritional Fortification in Foods of the National Standard for Food Safety (GB 14880), and the sources of nutritional fortification compounds that are permitted to be used shall comply with the provisions of Appendix B. The provisions of Appendix B should be complied with.
Therefore, in the general food industry, vitamins are used as food additives, food nutritional enhancers or processing aids for the food industry, and their main functions are to improve the physical or chemical properties of food, increase the nutritional content (value) of food, and ensure that food processing can be carried out successfully.
2. Application in health food On June 2, 2023, the General Administration of Market Supervision, in conjunction with the National Health and Wellness Commission and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, issued the “Catalogue of Health Food Raw Materials Nutrient Supplements (2023 Edition)” and the “Catalogue of Health Functions Permitted to be Claimed by Health Foods Nutrient Supplements (2023 Edition)”, which will come into force on October 1, 2023 onwards. The use and claims of nutrient vitamins as nutritional supplements should comply with their relevant regulations.
On January 29, 2021, the General Administration of Market Supervision (GAMS) issued the Regulations on Excipients Available for Health Food Recorded Products and Their Usage (2021 Edition), which clearly stipulates 197 excipients that can be used in health food products, including Vitamin C, Vitamin E, etc., and their usage regulations. It should be noted that products claiming to supplement vitamins are not allowed to use vitamins as excipients, and vitamin E cannot be used as an excipient in gel candies.
Therefore, vitamins are used as health food excipients and nutrient supplements in products categorized as health food. As a health food supplement, it has functions such as antioxidant; as a nutrient supplement, it is mainly used to supplement the insufficiency of dietary intake, regulate the function of the organism, not for the purpose of treating diseases, with a clear quantitative and effective relationship and suitable people, and can claim its unique health care function.
3. The application of vitamins in foods for special dietary use as nutrients in foods for special dietary use, the content of which should be in accordance with the “National Standard for Food Safety General Principles for Formulas for Special Medical Purposes” (GB 29922-2013), the “National Standard for Food Safety General Principles for Formulas for Infants for Special Medical Purposes” (GB 25596-2010), and the National Standard for Food Safety Infant Formulas (GB 10765-2021), National Standard for Food Safety for Larger Infants (GB 10766-2021) and National Standard for Food Safety for Young Children (GB 10767-2021), and other product standards for foods for special dietary uses and/or relevant regulations.
In foods for special dietary uses, vitamins are used for the purpose of nutritional fortification, and their scope of use, amount of use and sources of compounds should be in accordance with Appendix C of Standard for the Use of Nutritional Fortifiers in Foods (GB 14880-2012).
Therefore, vitamins are used as nutritional fortifiers and nutrients in foods for special dietary use. As food nutrient fortifier is mainly to increase the nutrient content (value) of food; as nutrient is mainly to meet the physiological and nutritional needs of specific groups of people or certain patients, provide targeted nutrients, but not drugs, can not replace the therapeutic role of drugs.
Summary
This article categorizes and inventories the relevant regulations of vitamins in different foods, and it can be seen that vitamins are used for different purposes, and their application bases and functions are also different. Enterprises should legally comply with the production and sale of vitamins, and consumers should also be scientific knowledge and rational purchase of vitamin products.