On Sep 20, the General Administration of Customs (GACC) released information on food and cosmetics that were not allowed to enter the country in Aug 2022. In August 2022, the GACC detected 266 batches of unqualified food and cosmetics items such as safety and hygiene items in the port supervision link and were not allowed to enter the country. Among them, there are 260 batches of food and 6 batches of cosmetics.

The information shows that the top 10 places of origin of food products banned from entry are Japan, the USA, Russia, the UK, Taiwan(China), Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and Ecuador. Among them, the food from Japan has the largest quantity, with 52 batches, involving various alcohol, aquatic products, candy, chocolate and their products, baked goods, convenience foods and beverages. Among them, the reasons for not being allowed to enter the country include failure to obtain entry qualifications, failure to provide certification documents as required, exceeding the standard of the total bacterial colony, over-use of food additives, etc.

Fig.1 Place of origin of un-allowed food

More than half of the un-allowed foods were found not meet the certificate documents issue or labels requirements. In addition, some foods were found to have the unqualified sensory inspection, detective animal diseases, exceeded the standard for volatile salt nitrogen, exceeded the standard for the total bacterial colony, failed to obtain an inspection and quarantine access, and used of additives beyond the scope, etc., and a very small part of the food was found to exceed the shelf life, contain impurities, detective unapproved genetically modified ingredients, illegal use of chemical substances, etc.

Among them, the most frequent cases are those with documentation problems. These include unqualified certificates and failure to provide certificates or qualified supporting documents as required. It is mentioned in the Measures for the Administration of imported and Exported Food Safety of the People's Republic of China that the customs conducts on-site inspections of imported food according to the needs of supervision and management. The content of the on-site inspection include the container number, seal number, the content of the logo on the inner and outer packaging, and whether the actual condition of the goods is consistent with the declared information and accompanying documents.

Fig. 2 Reasons for food not allowed to enter the country

The ports of entry for unapproved food involved 21 ports of entry in Shenzhen, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Zhanjiang, Xiamen, Nanning, Ningbo, Fuzhou, Gongbei, Changchun, Huangpu, Changsha, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Jinan, Nanchang, Nanjing and Dalian. Among them, the Shenzhen port detected the largest number of non-entry foods, with 58 batches.

In addition to food, six batches of cosmetics were not allowed to enter the country, from Japan, Thailand and Germany. Among them, 2 batches of cosmetics were found not meet the cargo certificate, 3 batches of cosmetic products were not granted inspection and quarantine access, and 1 batch of cosmetic products exceeded the standard for total bacterial count