On June 21, 2022, General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) published the list of non-compliant food products in May of 2022. A total of 185 batches of imported food from 23 countries/regions were rejected.
Most non-compliant imported food in May came from Hong Kong, China (15%, all beverages), followed by Vietnam (13%, mostly aquatic products) and Japan (11%, mostly snacks). The major reasons for the import rejection were:
Unqualified labeling (25.4%)
Exceeding the use of food additives/nutritional fortification substances (24.9%)
Lack of required documents or evidential materials (11.4%)
Lack of inspection & quarantine permit (9.2%)
Discrepancy between cargo and certificate (7.0%)
Noteworthy Points
A total of 41 aquatic products were rejected in May, and most of them from Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Russia. The most common reason was exceeding the use of food additives, followed by the discrepancy between cargo and certificate. In fact, aquatic products are always regarded with high risk of import failure. Please check China Aquatic Products Regulation for related regulatory obligations.
Seven batches of food from Japan failed for lacking attached supporting documents. For food imported from Japan, stakeholders need to be aware that the certificate of origin is required for customs clearance.
More analysis on customs clearance in 2022 can be found below:
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