On 15 Oct., Baolingbao Biology Co., Ltd. (BLB) said in a Q&A platform for investors that the company had made full preparations for domestic approval of the use of psicose in the future. Earlier on 25 Aug., BLB announced to launch a 30,000 t/a psicose (dry basis) project, which is to make capacity preparation for the anticipated-to-come psicose market in China and meet the demand from overseas markets. The project has a total investment of USD58.82 million (RMB380 million) and plans a construction period of two years; it is in the early stage of construction.

As one of the pioneers in psicose business in China, BLB has been engaged in the R&D of psicose for over six years, and completed the upgrading of the pilot production line of psicose and officially put it into operation in H2 2020. At present, the company has over 1,000 t/a psicose capacity. The crystalline & liquid psicose it produced are mainly exported to Japan, South Korea and North America.

Psicose, as a new generation of very low-calorie functional sweetener, is a good substitute for sucrose. In 2014, it has passed the GRAS certification of the FDA of the US, and the use is allowed in 13 countries worldwide, including the US, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. However, as relevant standards for psicose in China are being formulated, its use is banned in China now. But it is believed to have great potential development space in China.

Besides BLB, Shandong Bailong Chuangyuan Bio-Tech Co., Ltd., another major psicose manufacturer in China, also pays close attention to the domestic psicose market so as to seize more market shares. In June 2021, the company expressed that it would apply for the domestic sales licence as soon as it is approved. The same month, the company approved the proposal of building a 15,000 t/a crystalline glucose project, which includes 5,000 t/a psicose production capacity.