In March 2025, the Shanghai National Exhibition Center hosted a globally renowned industry event - the 28th China International Food Additives and Ingredients Exhibition (FIC2025). With 1,632 exhibitors, 150,000 professional visitors, and 44 new product launches... This exhibition, hailed as the "industrial trendsetter of the food industry", not only showcased the most cutting-edge technologies and products, but also revealed the three major trends of the future food additive industry: naturalization, functionalization, and sustainability.

Trend 1: Natural ingredients gain prominence, and clean labels become the mainstream.

"Preservatives" used to be a "sensitive word" in the food industry. The emergence of biological preservation methods such as lactic acid bacteria and glucose fermentation products has brought about a refreshing change.

Trend 2: Functional Upgrade, From "Seasoning" to "Empowering".

In the future, food additives will no longer merely be "flavor enhancers", but will be upgraded to "functional carriers".Currently, plant-based proteins and insect proteins have become popular alternatives to traditional animal proteins, reducing environmental burdens while providing high nutritional value.
Trend 3: Sustainability and Cross-Border Integration, Opening Up New Dimensions for the Industry.
Synthetic biology has emerged as a highlight. It optimizes food processing procedures, reduces energy consumption and waste, and even achieves the transformation of waste into resources through comprehensive utilization.

It can be seen that the food additives and healthy food ingredients industry is undergoing a transformation from being regarded as a "necessary evil" to being seen as a "key to innovation". In the future, they may become the guardians of nature, the transmitters of functions, and even the practitioners of sustainability.
Just as a slogan at the exhibition stated: "Additives are not the enemy; how they are used is the key." This transformation requires the joint efforts of the industry, policies and consumers.
Only when food additives are "seen" can they be "trusted".