GACC Clarifies Inspection and Quarantine Requirements for Imported Dairy Products After the Implementation of Decree 248 & 249

In line with the implementation of “Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Registration and Administration of Overseas Manufacturers of Imported Food (General Administration of Customs Decree 248)” and “Administrative Measures on the Safety of Import and Export Food of the People’s Republic of China (GACC Decree 249)” on Jan. 1, 2022, the “Administrative Measures for Inspection, Quarantine and Supervision of Import and Export Dairy Products” will be repealed accordingly at the same time.

Therefore, General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) released a notice (GACC Notice No. 114, hereinafter “this notice”) on Dec. 24, 2021, to clarify the inspection and quarantine requirements for imported dairy products on and after Jan. 1, 2022. Compared to old requirements, this notice is mainly a summary of previously revealed regulations.

Application scope

Dairy products mentioned in this notice include colostrum, raw milk and dairy products.

• Colostrum refers to milk produced from postpartum dairy animals within 7 days.

• Raw milk refers to natural milk from healthy dairy animals that comply with relevant requirements in China without any change in the component. Postpartum colostrum, milk produced during antibiotics use and withdrawal period, and alterative milk shall not be used as raw milk.

• Raw milk products are products made from raw milk and processed without heat treatment and sterilization.

• Dairy products refer to foods produced from milk as the main raw material, including pasteurized milk, sterilized milk, modified milk, fermented milk, cheese and processed cheese, cream, condensed milk, milk powder, whey powder, whey protein powder, milk-based infant formula foods and its raw material “base powder”, casein, and other milk and milk products (such as milk mineral salts and milk protein).

Detailed inspection and quarantine requirements

• Imported dairy products shall be attached with a health certificate issued by the competent authority of the exporting country or area. The certificate shall bear the seal of the competent authority of the exporting country or area and the signature of its authorized person. The destination shall be marked as the People's Republic of China. The sample of the health certificate shall be confirmed by GACC.

• Imported raw milk, raw milk products, pasteurized milk and modified milk produced and processed by the pasteurization process require import quarantine approval procedures.

• Overseas manufacturers should ensure that dairy products exported to China comply with China's national food safety standards and related requirements.

1. For dairy products imported for the first time, a test report on the items specified in the corresponding national food safety standards should be provided. “Imported for the first time” means the dairy products (with same overseas manufacturer, product name, formula, overseas exporter and domestic importer) are imported to China for the first time from the same port.

2. For dairy products not imported for the first time, a copy of the test report for the first time of importation and a test report on the items required by GACC shall be provided. In this situation, test report items are determined by GACC according to the dairy risk monitoring and other relevant circumstances. You can find the detailed items on the official website http://jckspj.customs.gov.cn — "Information Services — Inspection and Quarantine Requirements ".

3. The test report should correspond to the manufacture date or manufacturing batch number of the imported dairy products.

4. GACC implements a notification and commitment system on the certification items of the testing report for imported dairy products.

• The testing agency issuing the test report for imported dairy products can be official laboratories, third-party testing agencies or enterprise laboratories outside mainland China, or testing agencies in China that have obtained accreditation as food inspection agencies.

For further questions, please email [email protected].