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.
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.