Playing ball in China's health claims park

Lorraine Heller met with Randy Dennin, chairman of the Chinese branch of US trade group Natural Products Association (NPA), at Supply Side East and asked him about regulatory and other challenges on the Sino peninsula.

Dennin yesterday addressed industry members during a session held at the Supply Side East trade show in Secaucus, New Jersey, entitled “China update: Ingredient safety and quality issues”.

In this podcast, he tells Lorraine Heller about how the health claims approved for use in China are restricting the market, the scientific substantiation required for these claims, and the time and cost often involved in the approval process for new dietary ingredients.

Dennin also identifies an area within the recently passed Chinese food safety law that could potentially prevent some ingredients from being sold as dietary supplements.

NPA set up its China office in 2006 to help US companies export their products to China. Some of the group’s activities in the country include regulatory advocacy, ingredient quality assurance and educational seminars.

Dennin also spoke about the market potential in China, which NutraIngredients-USA.com will report on in the days ahead.