The second decree is the "Administrative Measures on Import and Export Food Safety" (GACC Decree 249),
which covers a broad range of requirements on food exports to China, including overseas facilities registration, record filing by importers and exporters, quarantine and inspection, and product labeling.
According to the provisions of GACC Decree 249 Article 15, the GACC registration number of overseas production enterprises needs to be printed on the
Chinese Labeling of imported food,
then can pass the
China Customs
Clearance process normally.
Both Decree 248 and Decree 249 are slated to enter into force on January 1, 2022.
According to the requirements of the "Chinese Food Safety Law", all imported food must have Chinese labeling, and the elements of the Chinese label must comply with the relevant label regulations and GB standards;
The Chinese labeling samples must be submitted to CIQ for
inspection before customs clearance ;
According to China's food safety regulations, all
imported food formula ingredients must in the NHC ( National Health
Commission of China ) approved list, including food additives, edible colorings, nutritional supplements, etc
Moreover, the NHC has strict regulations on each food additive ingredient, which category of food can be used, and the limit of the content used;
During the China Customs clearance process, the CIQ (Inspection and Quarantine Bureau of China) will inspect the ingredients formula list of each
imported food, If does not meet the requirements of formula ingredients, It will not be cleared.
Special food categories need to apply for
SAMR registration, and only after obtaining SAMR approval, then can be sold in China legally ;
Special food categories include: Infant Formula Food, Nutritional supplements (Dietary supplements), Functional Health Food, Special Medical Purpose (FSMP), etc.
And genetically modified foods(GMOs), pet foods,
animal feeds,etc. Need to apply for
"MOA-Ministry of Agriculture of China" registration and
obtain the corresponding licenses / certificates, then can be
imported into China ;
The 3 main GACC registration types include: 1 GACC-2 registration of overseas exporter
(11 digits
registration number ); 2. GACC-1 registration of overseas producer (18 digits
registration number ) ; 3. GACC-5 product listing of imported food (13 digits HS-CIQ
code);
Moreover, if the list of products exported to China involves
multiple food categories, the overseas production enterprises
need to apply for separate GACC registration number for each
food category;
Since Aug 1, 2018, China Customs has used new 13-digits
HS code for Customs Declaration;
If use incorrect HS codes for China Customs declaration,
will resulting in the Customs Clearance failed, Cause additional
Clearance time, more storage costs, substantial fines ,
administrative penalties, even face Civil or Criminal
charges;
