As of December 1, 2022, the European Union and the United States have respectively approved individual components and mixtures of 7 different HMOs, including 2 '- fucosyllactose (2' - FL), lacto-N-n-tetraose (LNnT), lacto-N-tetraose (LNT), bis fucosyllactose (DFL), 3 '- sialyllactulose (3' - SL), 6 '- sialyllactulose (6' - SL), and 3-fucosyllactose (3-FL), as new food ingredients and "generally recognized safe" (GRAS) substances; The Australia New Zealand region has also approved the use of 2 '- FL alone or in combination with LNnT in infant formula and infant formula supplements. The above countries and regions also have regulations on the usage limits of HMOs.

HMOs are managed in China according to the "nutritional fortifiers" in food additives. The National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center has publicly solicited opinions multiple times on the dosage and scope of use of 2 '- FL and LNnT as new nutritional fortifiers in infant formula, formula for older infants, formula for young children, formula for special medical purposes, and formulated dairy products (limited to children's milk powder only). On October 7, 2023, the National Health Commission approved the use of 2 '- FL and LNnT.

At present, the main methods for detecting HMOs include ion chromatography, liquid chromatography, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The national standard method is also under development. This article uses derivative ultra-high performance liquid chromatography to detect HMOs in milk powder, and quantifies them using internal standard method.