Requirements for enterprises filing and food access

Article 19 A food importer shall make a filing with the Customs Administration in the place of his or her domicile.

A food importer shall be responsible for the truthfulness and validity of the materials provided when making a filing.

A list of food importers that have made a filing shall be published by the General Administration of Customs.

Matters needing attention in the import of filed enterprises

l  Standards for imported food

Article 9 Imported food shall comply with the laws, regulations, and national food safety standards of China and the special requirements of any international treaty or agreement entered into or acceded to by China.

The imported food, for which the national food safety standards are unavailable, shall comply with the requirements of the relevant interim applicable standards promulgated by the health authority of the State Council.

For food produced with new food raw materials, a health administrative permit for new food raw materials shall be obtained from the health authority of the State Council in accordance with provisions specified in Article 37 of the Food Safety Law.

l  Quarantine approval

Article 27 The Customs Administration shall, in accordance with the law, exercise quarantine approval management of the import food subject to imported animal and plant quarantine approval. A food importer shall obtain an imported animal and plant quarantine permit before signing a trade contract or agreement.

Extension: Article 10 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Entry and Exit Animals and Plants Quarantine stipulates that importing animals, animal products, plant seeds, seedlings and other reproductive materials must submit an application in advance and go through the quarantine approval procedures.

l  Packagings, labels and marks requirements for imported food

Article 30 The packagings, labels, and marks of import food shall comply with the laws, regulations, national food safety standards of China, and shall be accompanied by an instruction manual in Chinese if the law so requires.

Imported cold fresh meat product: its inner and outer packaging shall bear a secure, clear, and legible written identification in both Chinese and English, or in Chinese and the language of the export country (region), indicating the following: country or region of origin, name of the product, registration number of the production enterprise, and production lot number; and the outer packaging shall bear the specifications, place of origin (specific to state, province, or city), place of destination, production date, shelf life, storage temperature, and other information in Chinese, and must indicate that the place of destination is the People’s Republic of China, and carry the official inspection and quarantine mark of the export country (region).

Imported health food or food for special dietary use: the label of an imported health food or food for special dietary use in Chinese must be printed on the smallest sales package, and shall not be affixed thereto.

The relevant provisions or stipulations shall be followed if there are any special labelling stipulations for the inner and outer packaging of import food.

l  Truthfully make an application

Article 24 The Customs Administration may, as needed for risk management, designate a port for import and a supervision zone for inspection with respect to import food. A list of designated ports and designated supervision zones shall be promulgated by the General Administration of Customs.

Extension: According to Article 46 of the Regulations on the Implementation of the Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Customs may implement the system of importing some foods at designated ports according to the needs of risk management. On the basis of risk assessment, the Customs may designate a supervision workplace for check, inspection and quarantine of some foods.

Article 25 A food importer or his or her agent shall, in accordance with the law, truthfully make an application to the Customs Administration when importing food.

l  Store in the places designated

Article 31 Import food, after delivery to a port, should be stored in the places designated or approved by the Customs Administration. Permission must be obtained from the Customs Administration if such food needs moving, and necessary safety protection measures shall be taken according to the requirements of the Customs Administration.

The places designated or approved should comply with the requirements stipulated in laws, administrative regulations and national food safety standards.

Article 32 Import food in bulk should be inspected at the port of discharge according to requirements of the Customs Administration.

l  Conformity assessment results and their disposal

Article 10 The Customs Administration shall implement conformity assessment on import food in accordance with the laws and administrative regulations on the inspection of import and export goods. Import food conformity assessment activities include the assessment and examination of the food safety management system of a foreign country (region) exporting food to China (hereinafter simply referred to as a foreign country (region)), the registration of an overseas production enterprise, the importer and exporter record and conformity guarantee, the quarantine approval of imported animals and plants, the inspection of an accompanying certificate of conformity, the verification of documentation, on-site inspection, supervisory sampling inspection, the inspection of import and sales records, and a combination of all the miscellaneous items.

Article 33 Import food shall be permitted to import upon passing the conformity assessment by the Customs Administration. The Customs Administration shall issue a certificate of non-conformity for the import food failing the conformity assessment by the Customs Administration; for the foods of non-conformity involving safety, health and environmental protection, the Customs Administration shall send a written notice to a food importer and order him or her to destruct or return the food involved. For non-conformity of other items, the food shall be permitted to import after having met the requirements stipulated in conformity assessment by means of technical treatment. For the corresponding import food that fails such technical treatment within a prescribed time period or still fails to meet the relevant requirements after the technical treatment, the Customs Administration shall order the food importer to destruct or return the food involved.

Next week, we will continue to share relevant import knowledge about the order No.249 of the GACC, please follow us!

Source: Fuzhou Customs 12360

Note: This article is compiled by Antion, please indicate our source if reprint it.