The National Health Commission’s decision opens the doors wide for a vast market all to be explored

▻ A little less than a month ago, the Xinhua News Agency, the official state-run press agency of the People’s Republic of China, announced that on January the 7th the Chinese National Health Commission approved Hyaluronic Acid as food ingredient.

It is estimated that Hyaluronic Acid and its salt counterpart Sodium Hyaluronate are commonly added to more than 70% of cosmetics and worldwide producers have been using it as a raw material in nutraceutical health products since its approval in 2008. Over the past few years the industry’s understanding of hyaluronans’ oral application has deepened and become more complete. 

Now, with its landscape-shaping initiative, the PRC’s top health authority blessed Hyaluronic Acid as a new food raw material for the Chinese market, meaning it can now be applied to ordinary food and daily dishes. More specifically, China’s decision seems intended for dairies, beverages, alcoholic drinks, frozen drinks, cocoa and chocolate products and candies.

Thanks to the gut-brain-skin axis, food-grade sodium hyaluronate provides numerous benefits to our body. Among those, it is able to moisturise our skin from the inside-out, keep our joints healthy and restore endogenous HA building blocks through degradation, absorption and re-synthesis of oral intakes. 

Industry-leading companies have already been research and developing such application for a few years and are ready to conquer this emerging and promising market. This groundbreaking decision has further pushed the pedal of innovation, leading our industry towards new application scenarios, new customers and new Health & Wellness tracks.