On April 28, under the guidance of the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Food Industry Association led more than 200 large food companies to hold an open initiative to optimize food label labeling, actively responding to the requirements of the new pre-packaged food labeling standards (GB 7718-2025), and not using terms such as "zero addition", which became a consensus among enterprises participating in the event. Are there really “no” foods in the market that have all kinds of “zero additions” in the market? Why does the new standard guide food companies to say “no” to “zero additions” in unison?

  investigation

  Most nominal "zero addition" have been added

  "Food additives are not healthy, and food is safer with zero addition" is a standard speech for many food sales personnel to introduce their own product selling points to consumers. A reporter from China Consumer News found that the "zero addition" claimed by many online and offline sellers actually have "foreshadowing".

  In the condiments sales area of ​​Beiguo Supermarket, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, the reporter noticed that the words "0 additions" on the front of the label of the five light soy sauces are very eye-catching, but the side of these product labels all indicate "The following ingredients are not added: preservatives (sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate), sweeteners (sucraclase, aceme): The content has not been detected." At the same time, there are 3 product ingredients that show that yeast extract is added.

  On an online shopping platform, among the more than 10 soy sauce products that the reporter found nominally "0" or "0-added preservative" were marked with 3 products' ingredients lists. The ingredients lists include sodium glutamate, disodium 5'-inosine, monopotassium glycyrrhizate, sucralose, etc. 1 product labeled with edible alcohol added.

  Ruan Guangfeng, deputy director and associate researcher at Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center, analyzed that the addition of sodium glutamate and disodium 5'-inosine in soy sauce is to increase freshness of soy sauce, while yeast extracts are rich in amino acids and peptides, which can indirectly increase the content of sodium glutamate in soy sauce; monopotassium glycyrrhizate and sucralose are sweeteners, which can give soy sauce a richer and softer sweetness after addition; adding alcohol in soy sauce helps inhibit the growth of microorganisms such as mold and prevent soy sauce from spoiling, which is actually a similar preservative.

  The reporter found that in addition to soy sauce, tomato sauce is a condiment marked with more words "0 Add". A brand of tomato sauce that is known as "0% added to the 0% Sustainable Quality", its ingredients list clearly marked with hydroxypropyl di-starch phosphate, glacial acetic acid, etc. Ruan Guangfeng introduced that hydroxypropyl di-starch phosphate is a thickener, and glacial acetic acid is not only an acidity regulator, but also has a preservative effect.

  Ruan Guangfeng believes that the various additive ingredients marked in the above-mentioned product ingredients list are food additives allowed by relevant national standards, but claiming that "0 addition" or "0 addition of preservatives" is easy to mislead consumers.

  analyze

  "Zero Add" is just a marketing method

  The reporter interviewed more than 30 consumers through online communication and offline inquiry. 30% of the respondents insisted that the simpler the food ingredients list, the better, and it is best to be as close to the natural state as possible. Among the 6 common food additives listed by the reporter, the respondents are most concerned and sensitive to preservatives, and the others are sweeteners, pigments, flavors, etc.

  However, in the modern food industry environment, it is difficult to achieve absolutely "zero addition" of food. Fan Zhihong, a professor at the School of Food and Nutrition Engineering of China Agricultural University, was interviewed by a reporter from China Consumer News, and used preservatives as an example to analyze that some foods, such as canned food, can solve the problem of preservatives by high-temperature sterilization. Moreover, generally, the canned food is eaten at one time after opening, and does not involve long-term consumption or storage after opening, so there is no need to add additional preservatives. However, low-candy jam, low-candy candy and other foods cannot achieve long-term preservation by reducing moisture activity and increasing osmotic pressure, and are not suitable for high-temperature heating treatment. If it is refrigerated after opening, it is inconvenient to use. If it is not refrigerated, it is easy to reproduce due to microorganisms or pathogenic bacteria, causing mold and deterioration, etc. In this case, preservatives will be considered. In addition, some soy sauces cannot be controlled by adding salt to inhibit microbial growth, and they should also consider taking and using as soon as they are cooked after opening the food. Generally, they will also consider adding preservatives in moderation.

  Fan Zhihong analyzed that standardized use of any food additives allowed by national standards will not harm health. Blindly pursuing "zero addition" and "no preservatives" may increase risks. Foods with high oil content are prone to fatty acidity, and the addition of antioxidants can prevent or delay the oxidation and deterioration of oil components. Nitrite, the preservative in sausage, can inhibit the growth and reproduction of Botox. Botox may produce a highly toxic toxin during its growth process - Botox, which is more toxic than arsenic.

  Ruan Guangfeng analyzed that the so-called "zero addition" and "no preservatives" are just marketing methods. Some foods do not need to add preservatives at all, such as honey (high sugar), instant noodle cakes (dry), pickled foods (high salt), etc., which are difficult to be used by microorganisms to grow. Claiming that "no preservatives" is a gimmick. In addition, it is difficult to completely leave a special food additive - processing additive in the food processing technology chain. For example, some pure brewing soy sauce, enzyme preparations need to be used to improve the fermentation efficiency and effect during the brewing process, and enzyme preparations are a processing additive.

  suggestion

  Read the label carefully and see the ingredients list clearly

  A reporter from China Consumer News found that in addition to the aforementioned claim that "0 preservative addition" actually adds auxiliary preservative ingredients such as monopotassium glycyrrhizic acid, glacial acetic acid, and edible alcohol, many foods with "very clean" ingredients often have higher salt and sugar content than non-"zero-added" foods.

  On an online shopping platform, the reporter retrieved a soy sauce nominally added with Qianhe Zero, whose product category is marked as "high-salt dilute fermented soy sauce". The nutritional content list shows that the sodium content is 612 mg (NRV nutrient reference value is 31%); a nominally added Wei Damei Yuhai Chef Series Zero Addition Extra Gold Standard Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy Soy

  Ruan Guangfeng believes that according to the current "General Rules for Nutritional Labeling of Pre-packaged Foods", foods with sodium content exceeding 30% NRV (equivalent to 600 mg of sodium) are called high-salt foods, and high-salt itself is actually a way to prevent food from being preservative. Of course, for liquid condiments like soy sauce, high salt alone is not enough to ensure its safety. Therefore, "0 additions" soy sauce mostly requires "capting the bottle cap immediately after use and refrigerating."

  In addition to "0 preservative addition", "0 sucrose addition" is also very common. The reporter retrieved a 0-sugar soda biscuit. Although the product introduction claimed that "zero sugar-fed food" and "0 addition of recipes, please feel free to eat with elders", it is not difficult to find that it is clearly marked with ingredients such as edible glucose.

  Ruan Guangfeng believes that food deliberately emphasizes "zero addition" and can easily cause psychological hints to consumers that food additives are harmful or dangerous to certain food ingredients, thereby ignoring other important information on food labels, such as high-salt and high-fat ingredients displayed on the nutritional ingredient list and the ingredients list. After the implementation of the new version of the "General Rules for Labeling of Pre-packaged Foods in National Standards for Food Safety", in addition to the use of terms such as "no addition" and "zero addition" to special emphasis on food ingredients, pre-packaged foods also strengthen the requirements for quantitative labeling, that is, the ingredients or ingredients mentioned in the food name need to be marked. In addition, mandatory labeling content such as saturated fat (acid) and sugar are also added, which helps consumers control their intake of energy, fat, sugar, etc. as needed.

[Editor in charge: Feng Kong]