GACC Revokes the Manufacturer Registration of Two Facilities in India

As revealed by an official notice released on Mar 23, 2022, GACC revoked the registration approvals of two facilities in India due to significant issues existing in their food safety and hygiene management. After checking the company information in CIFER query platform, the state of their manufacturer registration has already turned into “Revoked”.

In which situation GACC will revoke the manufacturer registration? What’s the outcome?

As per Article 24 of Decree 248, if a registered overseas manufacturer of imported foods falls under any of the following circumstances, GACC shall revoke its registration and issue a public announcement thereof:

1. severe food safety incidents of imported foods caused by the manufacturer;

2. food safety problems detected in foods exported to China during the entry inspection or quarantine, and the circumstance is serious;

3. significant problems exist in the manufacturer’s food safety and sanitation management, which make the manufacturer cannot ensure its food export to China conforms with safety and sanitation requirements; (which is the reason why the registration approvals of the two facilities in this notice were revoked)

4. the manufacturer fails to meet the registration requirements even if taking rectification measures;

5. the manufacturer provides false materials or conceals relevant facts;

6. the manufacturer refuses to cooperate with GACC in reviews and incident investigations;

7. the manufacturer leases, lends, transfers, or resells its registration number, or use another manufacturer’s registration number.

For overseas manufacturers of imported food whose registration has been revoked, import declaration will no longer be accepted for the products that start their shipment to China from or after the date when the revoke takes effect by GACC. Products that have been declared but whose import formalities have not been completed will be returned or destroyed in accordance with relevant provisions.

How will GACC define significant problems in enterprise management?

If GACC learns and confirms that manufacturer has significant problems in food safety & sanitation management and cannot guarantee that the foods exported to China meet the safety & sanitation requirements, after confirming it with the competent authority of the country (region) that relevant risk cannot be effectively eliminated by technical means within 3 months, the registration of relevant manufacturer will be revoked.

GACC mainly learns the situation through the following methods:

• re-evaluation

• notifications from the competent authority of the country (region) where the overseas manufacturer of the imported food is located

• public opinion information collection and judgment

• complaints and reports

• letters and visits, etc.

Reminders for stakeholders

For manufacturers who have already got the registration approval, they shall make sure their compliance continuously. In practice, GACC will conduct the risk assessment and organize a review team to conduct re-evaluation of manufacturers based on the manufacturer’s source of raw materials, production & processing technologies, monitoring & testing historical record data on food safety, consumer groups, consumption methods of food and other different related factors. Risk public opinion information notified and collected by the competent authority of the country (region) is also taken into consideration during the evaluation.

For manufacturers who haven’t got their manufacturers registered with GACC, they shall first confirm if they meet the preconditions for registration as stipulated in Article 5 of Decree 248 before submitting the application. For those who have difficulties in GACC overseas food manufacturer registration, you are welcomed to email ChemLinked ([email protected]) for help.

Recommended resources:

• Full text of Decree 248

• Interpretation of Decree 248

• Online course: The Ultimate Guide to China's GACC Overseas Food Manufacturer Registration