A virtual seminar on Infant Formula Perfection, Registration Guidance and Nutritional Ingredients Analysis under the New National Standard was held from 16 to 17 April by China Food Industry Productivity Promotion Center and co-organised by Xiamen Huison Biotech Co., Ltd.
The seminar gathered leaders of relevant Chinese departments, famous experts, professors and representatives of excellent enterprises.
In order to better meet the nutritional and health needs of Chinese infants, the national food safety standard Infant Formula (GB10765-2021) will be officially implemented on 22 February 2023. In the next few years, infant formula will move toward safety standardisation and refinement of ingredients, with the nutrition getting closer to breast milk.
During the seminar, Ning Xiaoxiao of Xiamen Huison Biotech Co., Ltd shared the R&D process and industrialisation of virgin DHA dairy products, and its applications in infant formula milk powder.
Various studies have shown that, in addition to the common fish oil and algae oil that can provide DHA, breast milk is also rich in DHA, which is a natural lactation mechanism unique to mammals, but ruminant dairy products are low in DHA, so infant formula milk powder and children’s dairy products need to add extra DHA as a nutritional supplement.
Virgin DHA pure milk is milk that contains DHA after the cow is milked by ingesting fermented schizochytrium powder HS01. This process is similar to the natural food rich in DHA through dietary supplementation of nursing mothers, which is metabolised by the mother into breast milk fat and exists in the milk fat globule membrane, while the milk fat globule membrane is a natural protective barrier for DHA with a unique oil-in-water emulsification structure, which is unique to mammal milk. By using flow cytometry and gas chromatography for analysis, it was determined that virgin DHA in milk is present in milk fat globule membranes, and its structure and existence form are similar to those of breast milk.
Through stability test, it is found that virgin DHA in pure milk is more stable than the DHA added externally to milk or milk powder, and it does not change the original flavor of milk. Through test and evaluation, the triglyceride structure of SN-2 DHA is also similar to that of breast milk, which is more stable. Virgin DHA is also more easily digested and absorbed, with no fishy smell.
Under the new national standard, the DHA level in infant formula should be higher, but the existing infant formula in the market generally has lower level of DHA than the requirement of the new national standard. As experts at the seminar highlighted the technical difficulties to continue to increase the amount of externally added DHA, it needs to solve the smell, taste, oxidation stability within shelf life, content stability changes, as well as mixing uniformity, solubility, absorption and other problems.
At present, the industrialised raw milk’s DHA content is 10mg-20mg/100ml. After it becomes whole milk powder through the spray drying process, the virgin DHA content can reach 80mg-160mg/100g, which can be added by infant formula enterprises in proportion to the formula, solving the technical difficulties of external addition of high level of DHA, and making the DHA content in infant formula easily meet the regulatory requirements of new national standard.
Xiamen Huison Biotech Co., Ltd. was established in 2001 and its high-yield virgin DHA pure milk has been patented by China, US, Australia and Japan. Huison’s schizochytrium powder provides industrialised solutions for virgin and organic DHA dairy products, which is the leading patented technology for global industrialisation. Huison’s DHA algae oil has passed the EU certification, FDA GRAS certification and US organic certification. It is also physically extracted and safe.
