China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment convened a coordination meeting of the General Principles of Food for Elderly under the National Standards for Food Safety on May 10^th in Beijing to discuss the national food standards for the aged population and its relationship with other standards and related administrative regulations.

Researcher Han Junhua introduced the background of food standards for the elderly, and professor Ma Aiguo, responsible for standard drafting, gave a detailed report on the nutritional problems of the aged population, the current situation of the food for the elderly, the overview on the laws and regulations of food for the elderly in major developed countries, the standard-making process, basic conditions, definition and category of the products, and setting of various indicators, etc.

People over age 60 make up 17 percent of China’s population. In 2016, the former General Office of China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission issued the "Notice of Project Plan (Second Batch) for 2016 National Food Safety Standards (Food Letter from General Office of China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission [2016] No. 1358) and began to formulate food standards for the aged.

The General Office of the State Council issued the National Nutrition Program (2017-2030) in 2017, which called for the improvement of the nutrition for aged population. The establishment of national food standards for the elderly is timely and appropriate and is also a specific measure to implement the National Nutrition Program (2017-2030).

Junhua presided over the meeting of more than 50 people. Attendees included Yan Weixing, deputy director of China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Luo Mai, investigator of retirement office of the National Health Commission, Pang Jiongqian, senior staff of the food division, Guo Xiangdan, chief of the Department of Food Safety Supervision I of the State Administration for Market Regulation, Li Xiaoyu, director of Department of Science, Technology and Standards of CFDA, heads of food-related departments of Health and Family Planning Commission in Hubei province, Heilongjiang province and Qinghai Province, Yang Yuexin, president of Chinese Nutrition Society, Yang Xiaoguang and Zhang Jian, Nutrition and Health Department of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention researchers, and experts from the Science and Technology Research Institute of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, Beijing Institute of Nutritional Resources, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Beijing Technology and Business University, Geriatrics Institute of Beijing Hospital, UNICEF, China Institute of Food Science and Technology, China Dairy Industry Association, China Nutrition and Health Food Association, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, as well as the representatives from related industries.