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China CIQ inspection requirements for Imported food
Food imported into China has to undergo commodity inspection
first before going through customs clearance. Failing the
inspection, the products are not allowed to enter the country
and will be returned to the consignor.
For food passing commodity inspection, customs clearance
formalities and tariff payments follow, with procedures the same
as for other imported goods.
To import pre-packaged foods, advance action has to be taken to
prepare labelling as required by the Chinese mainland. This step
plays a very important part in determining whether the food
product can be imported smoothly. However, this step is often
overlooked, causing a lot of problems.
I. Supervisory workflow for imported food inspection and
quarantine
(A) Receipt of inspection application
1. Items requiring inspection
They include: food, food additives, food containers, packaging
materials, food utensils and equipment to be imported, or food
generally known as "imported food". All the above food items
must apply for inspection regardless of whether they enter China
by way of normal import or in other forms such as processed with
supplied materials, free giveaways, consignment, duty-free items
or returned export goods.
2. Preparation before import
Before the food is imported, the applicant must have ready the
commercial invoice, packing list and sales contract of the food
product. The applicant must also submit the following documents
in compliance with China's relevant rules and regulations:
approval document, health certificate, quality inspection
certification, country of origin certificate, as well as
certificate of use and certificate of ingredients regarding
pesticides, fumigants and food additives. Attention must be
given to the following special cases:
(1) Imported pre-packaged foods must come with Chinese
labelling, the content of which should comply with theGeneral
Standard for the Labelling of Pre-packaged Foods (GB7718-2004).
Pre-packaged alcoholic beverages should comply with the General
Standard for the Labelling of Pre-packaged Alcoholic Beverages
(GB10344-2005), while pre-packaged foods for special dietary
uses should comply with the General Standard for the Labelling
of Pre-packaged Foods for Special Dietary Uses (GB13432-2004).
(2) According to the stipulations of the Measures for the
Administration of Health Food, even before importing health
foods, the importer or agent must make an application to the
State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), which will issue an
Imported Health Food Approval Certificate to the imported health
food inspectorate. Upon import, the inspection and quarantine
department at the port of entry will handle the application for
inspection and supervise the inspection based on this
certificate. Only health foods passing the inspection will be
allowed to enter the country.
(3) New resource foods imported into China for the first time
must meet the same basic requirements for food importation.
Before import, an application has to be made to the inspection
and quarantine department and the products can only be imported
after being checked, inspected and granted approval by SFDA. To
apply for approval, the applicant has to submit samples of the
new resource food as well as health assessment information
provided by the exporting country (region), including the food
product's physical and chemical properties, toxicological
assessment, quality standards, production processes, efficacy,
amount of use, inspection method, and relevant international
standards and information.
(4) New types of additives on imported foods must comply with
the stipulations of China's Measures for the Administration of
Food Additives. Their approval procedures are basically similar
to those for new resource foods, in other words they have to be
checked and inspected by the inspection and quarantine
department and approved by SFDA before import. To apply for
approval, the applicant must submit samples of the food
additives, health assessment information provided by the
exporting country (region), approval certificate issued by the
competent foreign organisation or international organisation,
assessment information, and scope and amount of use of the
additives. The additives can only be imported after obtaining
approval.
(5) For products under China's Catalogue of Quarantine Approval
for the Entry of Animals and Plants, the owner of the product
must complete the quarantine approval procedures before signing
the sale contract and obtaining the entry animal and plant
quarantine certificate.
(6) Before or when aquatic products and meats enter China, the
owner of the product must present the inspection and quarantine
certificate (original copy) issued by the relevant government
department of the exporting country or region.
(7) Imported meats and aquatic products from certain countries
must come from foreign enterprises already registered in China.
3. Handling of application for inspection
According to the regulations governing application for
inspection, the inspection and quarantine department is
responsible for checking the information and qualification
documents furnished by the applicant. For applications meeting
requirements, they will be processed, a "customs clearance
document" will be issued and the cargo will be released for the
applicant to complete customs declaration and cargo delivery
formalities.
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.
The common China's government
departments include :
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