Ordinary food cannot claim to prevent or treat disease, whether on labels, advertisements or livestreams
In China, ordinary food labels, instructions and advertising cannot claim disease prevention or treatment. Except medical-service, drug and medical-device advertisements, ads may not claim treatment or use language that makes a product sound like medicine. Fines are 1–3 times advertising costs, or RMB 100,000–200,000 when costs cannot be established. Serious cases can lose their business license.
What it takes
Free. Review slogans, product pages and livestream scripts. Avoid claims such as lowering blood pressure, glucose and lipids, or treating constipation.
What you may gain
China's Food Safety Law bars false content and disease-prevention/treatment claims in food and additive labels, instructions and advertisements, making producers/operators responsible for accuracy and legality. Misleading food advertising is penalized under the Advertising Law. That law prohibits disease-treatment claims in all advertisements except medical services, drugs and medical devices, and bars medical terminology or language likely to confuse ordinary products with drugs or devices. Violations require stopping the advertisement and public clarification within its original reach. Advertisers face 1–3 times advertising costs; unascertainable or clearly understated costs bring RMB 100,000–200,000. Serious cases bring 3–5 times costs or RMB 200,000–1 million, with possible business-license revocation. These rules apply nationwide in China.
Context & considerations
Ordinary food also cannot make regulated health-function claims. Registered or filed health-food products may claim only functions in the national catalog; ordinary food has not undergone that process. See Chapter 6, entry 10 on recognizing such sales claims. Product details, livestream speech and social-media promotional posts also constitute advertising and leave evidence when published.
Research & references
NPC Standing Committee (third amendment, 2025). Food Safety Law, Articles 71, 73, 125 and 140. https://flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=7b5a76d0461745a08d3f964916b87ef3; NPC Standing Committee (2021 amendment). Advertising Law, Articles 17 and 58. https://flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=ff8081817ab231eb017abd6bd860052d