What makes a special diet special?

　　Special diet? I don't know, it sounds like it should be a very special food.
　　I've never heard of it. Is it for people who are not in good health?
　　It should be a health food, definitely not ordinary food.
　　Do you know what a special diet is? This is the answer obtained from a random interview with consumers at the Wanda store of Carrefour in Beijing.
　　Indeed, for many consumers, special diets are somewhat unfamiliar. The reason it is called a special diet is not only because it is a special type of food, but also because it has specific standards and specific user groups.
　　Different from health food
　　In the interview, many consumers believed that special diets are health foods, or are similar to health foods. But in fact, are they the same thing?
　　Special diet is short for special dietary food. It is a food specially processed according to a special formula to meet the physiological needs of certain special groups or the nutritional needs of patients with certain diseases. This type of food should clearly indicate on its outer packaging its special applicable population, targeted special formula, special physiological and nutritional components, and clear content that are different from ordinary foods.
　　It is understood that special dietary foods must meet two conditions: First, a certain type or category of food is most suitable for specific (special) groups, such as infants, young children, diabetic patients, people with severe deficiencies in certain nutrients, etc. Due to physiological reasons, the dietary structure required by these groups is significantly different from that of the general population. Second, the nutritional components of foods made for these groups are significantly different from comparable ordinary foods, with some nutrients being very low or very high in content. For example, infant formula milk powder needed by infants without breastfeeding has significantly different nutritional components and content from milk powder consumed by adults. Both conditions must be met to be called special dietary food.
　　The "Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Health Foods (Trial)", which officially came into effect on July 1, 2005, strictly defines health foods: Health foods refer to foods that claim to have specific health functions or are intended to supplement vitamins and minerals, that is, suitable for specific groups, have the function of regulating the body's functions, do not aim to treat diseases, and do not cause any acute, subacute, or chronic harm to the human body.
　　Industry insiders believe that there are three main essential differences between the two. First, the target and components are different: Special diets provide special nutrition for special groups, that is, providing special physiological and nutritional components (which cannot be obtained from ordinary daily diets); health foods provide specific physiological components that can regulate human body functions. Second, the edible value is different: Special diets have rich and specially targeted nutritional components; health foods do not primarily aim to provide nutritional components, and cannot provide special nutrition. Health foods have a clear and targeted physiological functional value, so their corresponding physiological functional components are often the most enhanced. Special diets have high-level and safe bioavailability, that is, low metabolic burden and strict biological indicators, while health foods have the highest relative metabolic burden and certain side effects. Third, the formula and process are different: Special diets have clear targeting or directionality, systematic quantitative nature, and extensive diversity in formula and process, therefore, compared with all other food forms, they have the greatest particularity and complexity.
　　Standards are gradually improving
　　“After several years of cleanup and standard formulation and revision work, the framework of our country's special dietary foods has basically matured. Taking sports nutrition foods as an example, it is relatively consistent with international regulations, codes, and other national systems.” At the 2013 Cross-Strait Sports Nutrition Food Technology and Application Expert Forum, Han Junhua, PhD from the National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, gave a brief introduction to the construction of China's sports nutrition food standard system.
　　From the establishment of the National Standardization Technical Committee for Special Diets in 2008, to the public solicitation of opinions by the National Health and Family Planning Commission on the "Suggestions on the Cleanup of Standards for Special Dietary Foods" in August 2013, and then to the release of four new national food safety standards, including the "General Rules for Special Medical Purpose Formula Foods", by the National Health and Family Planning Commission in February this year, China's special diet standards have been gradually improved, and the categories and requirements for special diets have become increasingly standardized.
　　In 2008, the National Standardization Technical Committee for Special Diets approved six national standards: "Sports Nutrition Foods", "Low-Sodium Foods", "Energy Control Formula Foods", "Basic Principles for Adding Essential Nutrients in Foods", "Test Method for Soybean Isoflavones in Health Foods", and "Good Operating Practices for Infant Formula Powder Production Enterprises", and discussed the 2009 national standard revision plan.
　　In 2013, the National Health and Family Planning Commission pointed out in the draft for comments that the expert group analyzed and sorted out 25 related standards and put forward cleanup suggestions: It is suggested to abolish 11 standards, including "Nutritionally Fortified Wheat Flour"; it is suggested to revise 3 standards, including "General Rules for Sports Nutrition Foods", into national food safety standards; it is suggested to integrate 5 standards, including "Energy Supplement Foods for Sports Nutrition", into "General Rules for Sports Nutrition Foods"; "Green Food Infant and Young Child Cereal Powder" is a certification and accreditation standard and is not included in the food safety standard system; it is suggested that 5 standards, including "Infant Formula Foods", remain in effect.
　　According to the situation of the standard cleanup work, the cleanup expert group suggested that the catalog of special dietary food standards in national food safety standards include: General rules for labeling of pre-packaged special dietary foods; infant formula foods; formula foods for older infants and young children; special medical purpose infant formula foods; infant and young child cereal supplementary foods; infant and young child canned supplementary foods; special medical purpose formula foods; other special dietary food standards (such as supplementary food nutritional supplements, sports nutrition foods, etc.).
　　“These industry standards are no longer listed separately, but their content is incorporated or integrated into the general rules of national food safety standards. It is equivalent to the content covered by a general rule, covering the content of a GBT and five QBs in one general rule.” Han Junhua said.
　　In February this year, the National Health and Family Planning Commission announced four new national food safety standards: "General Rules for Special Medical Purpose Formula Foods", "Good Manufacturing Practices for Special Medical Purpose Formula Foods", "Labeling of Pre-packaged Special Dietary Foods", and "Limits of Pathogenic Bacteria in Foods".
　　According to Han Junhua, special medical purpose formula foods can effectively shorten the treatment cycle, reduce treatment costs, and accelerate the recovery speed, playing an important role in nutritional support during patient treatment and recovery. The "Good Manufacturing Practices for Special Medical Purpose Formula Foods" stipulates the hygiene requirements and production operation requirements of relevant production enterprises. Han Junhua said that the "Good Manufacturing Practices for Special Medical Purpose Formula Foods", "General Rules for Special Medical Purpose Infant Formula Foods" (for infants under 1 year old), and "General Rules for Special Medical Purpose Formula Foods" (for children over 1 year old and adults) form a standard system of "one specification standard + two special medical purpose product standards", covering all ages and most diseases.
　　The "Labeling Standard for Prepackaged Special Dietary Foods" specifies the labeling requirements for infant and young child food, foods for special medical purposes, and other special dietary foods. It forms a food labeling standard system for China, along with the "General Rules for Prepackaged Food Labels" and "General Rules for Prepackaged Food Nutrition Labels" published in 2011, and is largely consistent with the food labeling standard system of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. This standard revises the definition of prepackaged special dietary foods, clarifies their classification, and sets strict requirements for the expression and claims of nutrients on their food labels. It specifically stipulates that "no content claims or function claims should be made for essential ingredients in infant formula for infants aged 0-6 months." This will play a significant role in ensuring comprehensive and balanced nutrition for infants, preventing exaggerated and false claims on labels, and regulating industry development.
　　“Given that foodborne illnesses caused by pathogenic bacteria are a major global food safety issue, the standard for "Limits of Pathogenic Bacteria in Food" sets limits for five pathogenic bacteria, including Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes, for eleven categories of prepackaged foods: meat products, aquatic products, ready-to-eat egg products, grain products, ready-to-eat bean products, chocolate and cocoa products, ready-to-eat fruits and vegetables, beverages, frozen drinks, ready-to-eat seasonings, and nut and seed products,” said Wang Jun, deputy director of the Second Department of Standards at the National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center. “This standard also clearly sets out the fundamental concept of controlling microbial contamination in food; sets ‘pathogenic bacteria-food’ combinations based on the characteristics of food and pathogenic bacteria; and adopts a stratified sampling scheme in accordance with the law of biological contamination. The implementation of this standard will improve China's food safety standard system, help effectively control pathogenic bacteria contamination in food, prevent the occurrence of microbial foodborne diseases, and ensure food safety.”}, {
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　　Overseas Regulation of Special Diets
　　In the United States, health supplements are known as dietary supplements. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has strict regulations for the labeling of these supplements. In addition to information such as the name, content of various ingredients, production date, and the names and addresses of the manufacturer, packer, and distributor, the label must also state "[type] supplement," such as dietary supplement, vitamin E supplement, or herbal supplement. This is primarily to inform consumers that supplements should not be consumed in large quantities or alone as a main meal. Additionally, the label must include a supplementary ingredient list, detailing the content of dietary supplement components in the product.
　　In relevant Canadian regulations, there is no specific definition for dietary supplements; instead, the term used is nutritional supplements. In "The Addition of Vitamins and Minerals in Food 2005, Canadian Policy Recommendations and Implementation Plans," Canada refers to the definition of nutritional supplements in the "Food and Drug Regulations" and classifies them as a type of special dietary food. It is defined as "products supplementing a diet which may be deficient in energy and essential nutrients," while also specifying that "the energy value of these nutritional supplements, which include protein, fat, and carbohydrates, differs from that of vitamin and mineral element supplements, which do not actually provide energy." This shows that Canadian nutritional supplements differ from both the Codex Alimentarius Commission's (CAC) vitamin and mineral element supplements and U.S. dietary supplements; they place greater emphasis on energy intake.