On April 28, 2023, General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) published the list of non-compliant food products in March of 2023. A total of 177 batches of imported food from 35 countries/regions were rejected.
Most non-compliant imported food in March came from Japan (22.6%, mostly snacks and condiments), followed by Vietnam (11.3%, mostly grain products) and the U.S. (9.6%, mostly alcohol). The major reasons for import rejection were:
Unqualified labeling (23.7%)
Lack of required documents or evidential materials (19.8%)
Lack of inspection & quarantine permit (13.0%)
Exceeding the use of food additives/nutritional fortification substances (11.3%)
Discrepancy between cargo and certificate (8.5%)
Noteworthy Products
1. Dairy products
Two batches of dairy products were rejected by China customs in March. One batch of whole milk powder from New Zealand failed for unqualified packaging, and one batch of Reblochon cheese from Bulgaria failed for excessive amount of coliform group.
2. Sports nutrition
Three batches of solid beverage for sports nutrition supplementation from Germany were rejected because their nutritional contents, such as protein, fat and vitamins, failed to meet the Chinese standards.
For sports nutrition products like protein powder, many companies will confuse them with ordinary solid beverages when importing due to their similarity. Sports nutrition products and solid beverages face different standards, so confusion can easily lead to that that products follow the inapplicable standard instead of the correct standard. Therefore, before import, conducting a comprehensive analysis of the product to determine its product category and HS code is extremely important.
In recent years, the sports nutrition segment is thriving in China due to heightened health consciousness among consumers. No longer niche products only for professional athletes, sports nutrition foods have gone mainstream and appealed to health-minded individuals across broad groups of the population. To gain key insights into this growing market, please refer to ChemLinked Webinar: Market Opportunities and Compliance of Sports Nutrition in China, where our speaker shared the market opportunities, regulatory requirements such as food classification, competent authorities, labels, claims, import procedures, and suggestions for enterprises.
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