China Customs Rejected 234 Batches of Imported Food in October 2022, Health Supplement & Infant Formula Involved

On November 24, 2022, General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) published the list of non-compliant food products in October of 2022. A total of 234 batches of imported food from 37 countries/regions were rejected.

Most non-compliant imported food in October came from Japan (23.1%, mostly snacks and health supplements), followed by Taiwan, China (16.7%, mostly grain products) and the U.S. (12.4%, mostly health supplements). The major reasons for import rejection were:

Lack of required documents or evidential materials (24.4%)
Unqualified labeling (23.5%)
Microorganism contamination (8.5%)
Lack of inspection & quarantine permit (8.1%)
Sensory test failure (8.1%)

Noteworthy Products

1. Dairy products

Eight batches of dairy products including five batches of infant formula were rejected in October. The details are as follows:

Product	Country/region of origin	Reason for rejection	Notes/suggestions
Nutrilon Infant Formula Milk Powder Stage 4 800g	Ireland	Substandard copper content	Subject to GB 10767-2010 Older Infants and Young Children Formula
Nutrilon Infant Formula Milk Powder Stage 5 800g	Ireland	Substandard vitamin D content	Subject to GB 10767-2010 Older Infants and Young Children Formula
Nutrilon Prefea Infant Formula Milk Powder Stage 2 800g	Netherlands	Substandard protein content	Subject to GB 10767-2010 Older Infants and Young Children Formula
Nutrilon Pepti Infant Formula Milk Powder Stage 2 800g	Netherlands	Substandard vitamin D content	Subject to GB 10765-2010 Infant Formula
Nutrilon Pepti Infant Formula Milk Powder Stage 2 800g	Netherlands	Substandard iron content	Subject to GB 10765-2010 Infant Formula
Probiotic Camel Milk Powder	Kazakhstan	Unqualified labeling	Check the labeling section of China Dairy Regulations
Desalted Goat Whey Powder D90	Spain	Unqualified packaging	Ensure the safety of food contact materials used in the packaging and the integrality of the packaging.
Power Red Orange Cheddar Processed Cheese	Taiwan, China	Excessive bacteria colonies	Subject to GB 25192-2010 Process(ed) Cheese

2. Health supplements

A total of 42 health supplement products were rejected. Among them, 20 were imported from Japan, 19 from the U.S., 2 from Taiwan, China and 1 from Germany.

As revealed by the list, all the 20 Japanese products were failed for lacking required documents or evidential materials, though no details about which document or material was missed, and the importer registration numbers were not indicated. Therefore, it is very likely that importer registration failure caused the import failure.

All 19 products from the U.S. were rejected due to unqualified labeling. Besides, the improper use of food additives caused import failures of several products. For labeling and the use of food additives in health supplements, please check China Health Food Regulation for more information.

More analysis on customs clearance in 2022 can be found below: