dsm-firmenich has confirmed plans to expand its human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) portfolio in China with two new ingredient submissions to the China National Centre for Food Safety Risk Assessment and National Health Committee. The company* has submitted Nutrition Fortifier (NF) dossiers for its GlyCare 3’-sialyllactose (3’-SL) and 6’-sialyllactose (6’-SL) ingredients — joining the registration process of its 2’-fucosyllactose (2’-FL) and lacto-N-neotetraose (LNnT) HMOs.
The HMO production strains of dsm-firmenich’s 3’-SL and 6’-SL have already received safety clearance confirmed by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) in Sep 2021. In the next stage, both 3’-SL and 6’-SL NF dossiers will go through a rigorous multi-phase regulatory assessment by CFSA to achieve food additive registration for early life nutrition (ELN) use in China. This development follows the 2021 submission of dsm-firmenich’s 2’-FL and LNnT HMOs as food additives for infant nutrition in China, which are now in the final stages of the food additive approval process.
“The authorisation process in China is stringent and highly challenging to navigate, comprising multiple rounds of technical review by scientific and regulatory experts, as well as a rigorous approval process that safeguards the safety and benefit of nutrition fortifiers intended for infants and young children. We continue to take positive strides in the region — first with the favourable progression of our 2’-FL and LNnT nutrition fortifier regulatory submissions, and now the submission of 3’-SL and 6’-SL,” commented Annette Lau, global regulatory affairs manager ELN at dsm-firmenich.
“Successfully breaking into complex markets, like China, highlights our teams’ unmatched multidisciplinary teamwork, cross-regional approach, regulatory expertise and their unbreakable commitment to advancing the HMO space. This latest progress is set to create significant innovation opportunities in the early life nutrition landscape — and, ultimately, make the unique benefits of HMOs accessible to more infants and young children globally.”
HMOs are emerging ingredients and important components of human breast milk that play fundamental roles in infant nutrition and health by supporting gut health, immune function and potentially cognitive development. dsm-firmenich has additional HMOs in the approvals system in China. As one of the first to dive into HMO research, development and manufacturing, the company continues to drive a new era in HMO innovation, with plans to expand its offering in the early life nutrition and dietary supplement categories across multiple regions worldwide. Currently, dsm-firmenich’s science-backed GlyCare HMO portfolio is available for use in more than 160 countries.
*Glycom A/S is ultimately controlled by DSM-Firmenich AG, registered in Kaiseraugst, Switzerland.
