On May. 21, 2021, General Administration of Customs of China (commonly abbreviated as GAC) released the list of non-compliant food products in April. A total of 157 batches of imported food from 29 countries/regions were rejected.
The largest proportion of non-compliant imported food in April came from Thailand (12%, mostly aquatic products), followed by Hong Kong (10%, mostly beverages and snacks) and Vietnam (10%, mostly oil seeds). Aquatic products, meat, and wine & beverage accounted for the majority of the overall rejections. The major reasons for the import failure were:
Unqualified food label
The discrepancy between cargo and certificate
Lack of required documents or evidential materials
Food spoilage
Noteworthy Products
1. Dairy Products
Three batches of cheese from France and one batch of yoghurt from Germany failed customs clearance for exceeding shelf life, and another batch of French cheese were rejected due to E. coli contamination. While arranging import matters, overseas enterprises should always take shelf life issue into consideration, so as to avoid the import failure caused by long shipping or customs clearance time.
2. Baby Snack
One batch of seasoned seaweed chips for infant and young children from Japan was rejected due to illegal use of glycyrrhizin.
3. Health Supplement
Ten batches of health supplements from America, Canada and Taiwan, China were rejected in April. Among them, six batches were failed for unqualified labeling, and four batches for the lack of required documents or evidential materials. In fact, unqualified label has always been one of the top reasons for customs rejection. Check China Food Labeling Regulation for more information.
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