Getting products into China can be complicated. In virtually all cases being compliant in your home market does not mean anything when it comes to China and there is a web of government agencies involved in overseeing the system. A mistake anywhere along the line can set back your progress and cost you money.
Between January and July 2019, a total of 727 consignments of imported food and drink items were returned or destroyed by Chinese customs. Reasons for this can include quality issues, missing certificates, incorrect labels, damaged packaging,presence of microorganisms, non-compliant ingredients among other reasons.
Given that getting compliance wrong can be a costly and frustrating waste of your time, brands should make getting your regulatory house in order a priority before entering the market.
Step 1: Importer and Exporter Registration
Whether using general trade, or the cross-border e-commerce channel, all exporters and importers of food and drink have to be registered in the General Administration of Customs of China’s (GACC)“Registration Systems of Imported Food and Cosmetic Importers and Exporters”.
There are some food products that have stricter safety requirements, like live seafood and health foods, and require additional registrations with different government departments.
Step 2: Get Your Documents Ready
There is a list of specific documents that you need to submit before shipping, such as ingredients, origin information and packaging list.
Failure to provide these documents with the shipping leads to almost certain delay and costs when the consignment arrives in China.
The importer will also request a variety of documents before the products arrive in China, including:
- Certificate of origin
- Certificate of free sale
- Production date certificate
- Packing list
- Authorisation letter
- Contract
- Invoice
- Bill of lading
Step 3: Labelling
Having local labels in simplified Chinese is required for all imported food and drink products. There are different labelling requirements depending on the type of product, listed by the national standard – GuoBiao (国标).
- Pre-packaged food (GB7718-2011)
- Pre-packaged food for special dietary uses (GB13432-2013)
- Pre-packaged food’s nutritional labelling (GB28050-2011)
- Pre-packaged alcoholic beverage (GB10344-2005)
In general, a label must provide the following:
- Name of foodstuff
- List of ingredients and percentages
- Name and address of manufacturer, local agent, or distributor
- Production date, best before, end date, guidance for storage
- Country of origin
- Quality grade
- Code of national standard/industry standard for the production
All labels must be approved by the Chinese Inspection and Quarantine (CIQ) under AQSIQ. You can have Chinese labels as part of your packaging, or stickers stuck on to the packaging. Although consumers look down on sticker labels in many countries, they are actually highly regarded in China as proving the product is indeed an import.
Step 4: Clearing Customs
After arriving in China, the products will be inspected by customs officials and the shipping documents and labels reviewed. The process is especially strict for first-time imports into China with officials certainly testing the products and this is when there is the highest risk of rejection.
From here, there are three things that might happen:
1 Goods pass through customs
The imported goods that pass inspection will be issued with a China Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau (CIQ) certificate by the GACC and be allowed to enter China. This certificate is issued for every shipment of product.
2 Goods without complete documentation are held
If any documents are missing, customs will hold the goods until the documents can be provided. There will be charges levied.
3 Goods are rejected
Imported goods that fail customs checks for any reason will undergo technical treatment under GACC supervision and then be re-inspected or be issued a Returns Handling Notice, meaning that the importer must return the product back to the exporter, or the goods must be destroyed. There will be charges levied.
Failure to comply with Chinese regulations has been the downfall of many companies with dreams of exporting to China. At the very least, getting it wrong imposes unnecessary costs and delays on both exporters and importers.
ADN can help guide you through the whole process. Our compliance services include ingredients checks, translation of label artwork, consultancy on packaging claims, registration with customs and labels. At the end of the process, you will have a fully compliant Chinese nutritional label.