GACC Publishes New Regulations on Food Imports Into China

8. July 2021

In April 2021 the GACC (General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China) published two new decrees (Decree No. 248 and Decree No. 249) that fundamentally change food certification for China for imports from foreign countries.

What are the main changes to GACC certification for China?

 

 

Decree 248 states that food products will be divided into two categories:

Category 1
Manufacturers or processors of food products must first be inspected by local authorities in the exporting country and recommended to GACC before the food can be registered with GACC in China. At present, it has not yet been precisely determined which local authority will be permanently responsible for these inspections.

 

Category 2
Here, manufacturers or processors can be registered directly with the GACC without a preliminary inspection. The registration with the GACC is done via an online system, which will be activated shortly.

 

Category 1 foods include:

• meat and meat products
• casing
• aquatic products
• dairy products
• cubilose and cubilose products
• bee products
• eggs and egg products
• edible fats and oils
• stuffed pasta
• edible cereals
• industrial cereal powder products and malt
• fresh and dehydrated vegetables
• dried beans
• seasonings
• nuts and seeds
• dried fruits
• unroasted coffee beans and cocoa beans
• food for special dietary use
• healthcare products

 

Decree 249 describes the procedure by which the recommendation by local authorities to the GACC should proceed, specifically the documents required for this purpose. These include:

1. a letter of recommendation from the local authority
2. a list of recommended producers and their application for registration
3. identification documents of the food producer, for example entry in the commercial register
4. a statement from the local authorities confirming that the food producer complies with the necessary regulations
5. a report on the verification of the food producer by the local authority.
6. GACC may request additional documents if necessary for example documents on the food safety management of the manufacturer, including a plan of the work area, the factory and a process flow chart.

 

In addition, there are foods that must be additionally registered with SAMR (State Administration for Market Regulation). As a government agency, SAMR regulates such areas as market competition, monopolies, intellectual property rights and drug safety.

With these new regulations, China is increasing the focus on food safety controls of food producers and also on Chinese importers in an effort to show that the foods meet the Chinese requirements.

 

More information on food certification in China in general can be found here.

Please feel free to contact us for more information and advice on how to import your products into China. You can email us or call us at +49692713769150.

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