On February 16, 2022, General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) published the list of non-compliant food products in January of 2022. A total of 278 batches of imported food from 36 countries/regions were rejected.
Most non-compliant imported food in January came from Taiwan, China (14%, mostly grain products), followed by Japan (10%, mostly snacks), and the U.S. (9%, mostly wine and health supplements). The major reasons for the import rejection were:
Unqualified labeling (31%)
Exceeding the use of food additives/nutritional fortification substances (11%)
Lack of inspection & quarantine permit (11%)
Microorganism contamination (10%)
The discrepancy between cargo and certificate (8%)
Noteworthy Products
1. Dairy
One batch of dried cheese from France were rejected for "lacking the required certificates or materials". For the compliance with the import requirements, please refer to China Dairy Regulations.
2. Honey
A total of 17 batches of honey failed customs clearance in January. 15 batches were from Australia, and 1 batch from England and New Zealand respectively. Particularly, 12 batches of them were failed for unqualified labeling. Since there's no special labeling requirements specified in GB Standard for Honey, for the labeling of honey, please refer to the labeling requirements for prepackaged food in China Food Labeling Regulation.
3. Condiments
Pakistan rarely enters the top 5 countries with the most rejected food batches, but it is listed as the fourth in January, mainly contributed to the rejections of 14 batches of condiments. The major reasons were unqualified labeling and exceeding the use of food additives/nutritional fortification substances. Besides, it is noticeable that two batches of condiments with chicken in their ingredients were rejected owing to lack of inspection & quarantine permit. That's because GACC has banned the import of poultry and its products from Pakistan. Recently, GACC updated the list of animals and their products prohibited from importing from animal epidemic affected countries/regions. Please check ChemLinked news for more details.
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