China Customs Rejected 339 Batches of Imported Foods in April of 2022

On May 18, 2022, General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) published the list of non-compliant food products in April of 2022. A total of 339 batches of imported food from 34 countries/regions were rejected.

Most non-compliant imported food in April came from Indonesia (24%, mostly fish and meat products), followed by Taiwan, China (14%, mostly alcohol) and Japan (11%, mostly cookies). The major reasons for the import rejection were:

• Discrepancy between cargo and certificate (35%)

• Unqualified labeling (21%)

• Exceeding the use of food additives/nutritional fortification substances (12%)

• Lack of required documents or evidential materials (8%)

• Lack of inspection & quarantine permit (6%)

Noteworthy Products 

1. Dairy 

Two batches of dairy products were rejected, including one batch of pasteurized milk from Australia and one batch of milk powder from Belarus. The former was rejected for excessive bacteria colonies. The latter failed for the discrepancy between cargo and certificate. Stakeholders shall ensure all the required materials for customs clearance are ready and consistent with the cargo before arriving the port.

2. Foods of animal/plant origin 

In April, several batches of aquatic products from Russia and some batches of common grain products, such as Japanese Ramen from Japan were rejected for lacking of inspection & quarantine permit.

In fact, besides foods made directly from animal/plant, foods containing any ingredient from animal/plant which is subject to customs quarantine and inspection shall also be required to obtain quarantine permit before import. Usually common prepackaged foods like Japanese Ramen are deemed as low risk food, however, in the case of containing certain ingredients, quarantine permit is still required.

Therefore, it is vital to make an accurate compliance analysis of the food before import. If you are seeking a tool to navigate the compliance issue when exporting foods to China, Combox, made by ChemLinked will be a perfect choice. Combox can help not only on ingredients, but also label review and more. To get a trial, please click the picture below.