Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a draft on "Regulatory Requirements for Selenium in Infant Formula Foods," which identified "selenium" as the 30th mandatory nutrient element in U.S. infant formula, and recommended that infants The minimum amount of selenium added to the formula is 2.0μg/100kcal and the maximum limit is 7.0μg/100kcal. The draft will also revise the relevant requirements for the labeling of infant formulas, specifying that the selenium content per 100 kcal must be displayed in the ingredient list.

Selenium is one of the essential trace elements in human body and it is an antioxidant. Reasonable intake plays an important role in the growth and development of infants. Since the National School of Medicine in 1989 recognized that selenium is an essential nutrient for infants, U.S. manufacturers have begun to add selenium to infant formula. Currently, all infant formulas in the United States contain selenium. The FDA requires selenium to be sold only on the U.S. market by including selenium in the list of nutritional ingredients for infant formulas and determining the scope for safe addition in infant formulas. The addition of selenium to infant formula in the safe range also requires new registered manufacturers to enter the US market in accordance with relevant regulations, which further strengthens the importance of selenium. The time for FDA to solicit this draft opinion from the public will last from April 13, 2013 for 75 days.

The FDA's inclusion of selenium in the infant formula nutrition list means that the United States has incorporated the selenium element limit into daily inspection and supervision. The inspection and quarantine department reminded the relevant infant food formulae companies in the United States of concern to re-examine the product's technological process and strictly add them in accordance with US standards to ensure that the selenium content of the US-origin products reaches the US standard. At the same time, the inspection and quarantine departments will also increase the detection of selenium content in infant formula foods exported to the United States to ensure that the products meet the US quality and safety standards and ensure smooth export.