2010-10-28 15:10

BEIJING - China's Ministry of Health Wednesday released draft amendments to the regulation on the use of food nutrition enhancers in a bid to standardize their use and ensure food safety.

A ministry statement said various problems had been found since the current regulation took effect in 1994, such as the absence of clear rules in nutrition enrichment and the lack of a unified classification system on the foods to which nutrition enhancers can be added.

The use of nutrition enhancers in infant food was also not in line with the current infant food standards, it said.

The statement said the amendments would follow the latest developments in relevant domestic and foreign rules and China's specific situation.

The draft also introduced a list of approved chemical ingredients of nutrition enhancers.

The ministry has invited the public to comment on the draft at www.moh.gov.cn until Nov 16.

The quality of infant food is a sensitive topic in China after a 2008 scandal involving the addition of chemical additive melamine to milk.  The chemical, which was added to fool protein tests, found its way into baby formula and resulted in the deaths of at least six infants, while thousands more fell ill.