Different categories of food products imported to China need to comply with different China's food safety regulations and the requirements of the relevant regulations of different government authorities;
if you don't complete all the relevant compliance procedures before shipment, even if your goods have arrived at the Chinese ports of entry, you may not be able to clear the customs, the goods will be returned or destroyed, resulting in huge losses.
If you are the first time to export food to China, it is best to find a professional import China compliance consulting company to be your CRA (Chinese Representative Agent) , comprehensive understanding of the various regulatory requirements of food imported into China,
Do not be greedy for cost savings, just consult your Chinese buyers, who are not aware of all the food imported into China's regulatory requirements, Blind Leading the Blind , which may lead to you do not complete all the compliance procedures and the goods cannot be cleared.
The most typical example:
Overseas food sellers are often told by their Chinese buyers to apply for GACC registration, but the buyers are not clear about what types of GACC registrations they need to apply for, or even what other Chinese government departments they need to apply for.
So most of the overseas food sellers just apply for the GACC-2-1 type of exporter registration, and think they have completed the GACC registration, and some of them just ship the goods directly, and as a result, when they arrive at the Chinese port, they are told by the Chinese Customs that they can't clear the goods because they didn't provide all the necessary GACC registration numbers.
Food imported into China, for GACC registration is just one of the requirements, For different food categories, in addition to GACC registration, may also need to be registered by other different governmental authorities, such as
CIQ, MOA, AMR, MOFCOM, NMPA (CFDA) and so on;
Even for GACC registration:
Different company type and food categories need to apply for Different types of GACC registration, include：
1. GACC-1-1 type registration for overseas producers of Low risk food (18 digits number )
2. GACC-1-2 type registration for overseas producers of Medium risk food (18 digits number )
3. GACC-1-3 type registration for overseas producers of High risk food (18 digits number )
4. GACC-2-1 type General GACC registration for overseas exporters of imported food (11 digits number )
5. GACC-2-2 type Enterprises Whitelisting for Primary Agricultural and Livestock products (GACC white-list) (17 digits number )
6. GACC-5 type products listing for foods to be imported into China (13 digits HS-CIQ code )
( GACC-5-1 Low risk food,GACC-5-2 Medium risk food,GACC-5-3 High risk food, etc.)
If you do not apply for all the necessary GACC registrations, or apply for the wrong type of GACC registration, it may result in your shipment not being cleared;
Below is the "Check list for Food Products Export to China Compliance Requirements", you can initially check it, if there is no clear each other, and then consult your CRA to figure it out.
☼ Check list for Food Products Export to China Compliance Requirements
Step
FAQs
China Regulations' Challenge
Solution
1
Are your Food category allowed to import into China
from the country of origin?
.
A: YesB: No
C: Needn'tD: Pending .
For some "high-risk" food Categories,need the Chinese government to sign
relevant bilateral protocol with the country of origin in
advance, before they can be allowed to import to china; such as
agricultural products, meat, dairy products,Aquatic products,Feed, etc.
Does your company have GACC-2 exporter registration number (11 digits number) ?
.
A: YesB: No
C: Needn'tD: Pending .
Before shipping to China, All imported food overseas
exporter , need to
apply
GACC ( General Administration of Customs of China)
registration in advance. In each Customs clearance process, need
fill this GACC exporter registration number in all Customs documents;
Does your company have GACC manufacturer registration number (18 digits number) ?
.
A: YesB: No
C: Needn'tD: Pending .
Before shipping to China, All imported food overseas
manufacturers , need to
apply
GACC ( General Administration of Customs of China)
registration in advance. In each Customs clearance process, need
fill this GACC manufacturer registration number in all Customs documents;
If export primary plant or animal products, Does your company on the recommended whit-list for export China (17 digits number) ?
.
A: YesB: No
C: Needn'tD: Pending .
If export primary plant or animal products, such as Edible grains (rice, wheat, soybeans, corn, etc.), Nuts and seeds, Unroasted coffee/cocoa beans, Oilseeds, Plant spices, Vegetables, Fruits, animal feed, Traditional Chinese Medicine materials, live animals and plants, etc.,
Also need apply fot Quarantine Registration List of Overseas Animals and Plants and Relevant Products (GACC-2-2 type whitelisting);
Does your product have GACC product listing number (13 digits HS-CIQ code) ?
.
A: YesB: No
C: Needn'tD: Pending .
All imported food products are required to apply for GACC product listing, after
get the 13-digit HS-CIQ code corresponding to its product be included in its manufacturer's registration number, then can be exported to China.
Most imported foods need to have chinese label
except of some primary agricultural products. Each food
category, have its specific Chinese label norm, include Content,
format, labeling method, etc. the Chinese labeling samples must
be submitted to CIQ for inspection before customs clearance ;
Do the formula ingredients of your product meet the
requirements of China ?
.
A: YesB: No
C: Needn'tD: Pending .
The formula ingredients of all imported foods must comply with
the requirements of the relevant Chinese food safety
regulations； Must not contain prohibited ingredients；The content
of food additives must be within the allowable range; The
formula ingredient evaluation report must be submitted to CIQ
for review before customs clearance ;
Does the quality of your products meet China's
requirements ?
.
A: YesB: No
C: Needn'tD: Pending .
The quality indicators of all imported foods must
meet the requirements of relevant Chinese food safety
regulations and China national GB standards. CIQ will sampling
test imported foods. The testing items mainly include physical
and chemical indicators, heavy metals, microbiologicals,
prohibited ingredients, etc..
Does your product require pre-market approval before
importing?
.
A: YesB: No
C: Needn'tD: Pending .
Some special food products, need to apply China's relevant
government agencies pre-market approval, licensing or
certification in advance before export to china ; Such as,
Nutritional supplements, functional health foods, infant formula
milk powder, pet foods, GMOs products, etc.;
Usually the China customs will not check
trademarks, but if your trademark has been registered in China
and the registrant has applied for Customs intellectual property
protection, your goods will not be cleared.
In China, the imported food is divided into 4 risk levels
from low to high :
A, B, C, D ; Different levels of
supervision are adopted for foods with different risk
levels;
The medium to high risky imported food categories
include:Meat products, aquatic products, dairy products,
sausage casings, bird nest products, bee products, egg
products, edible oils and fats, oilseeds, stuffed wheaten
products, edible grains, milled grain industry products and
malt, fresh and dehydrated vegetables and dried beans,
condiments, nuts and seeds, dried fruits, unroasted coffee
beans and cocoa beans, foods for special dietary purposes,
and health foods, Animal feed etc.
In addition to the above-mentioned general food import
procedures, the risky imported food also need to go through
other government procedures of Manufacturer
Registration / Certifcation, Pre-market approval of the
product etc.
