With the continuous development of China's economy and the improvement of people's living standards, Chinese consumers' demand for high-quality, safe and healthy dairy products is rising, and more and more overseas food exporters are turning their attention to China's dairy market. In order to ensure the quality and safety of imported dairy products, China has implemented a series of strict regulatory measures for imported dairy products. In this series of original articles on "Exporting Food to China", Global Foodmate will explain in detail the requirements for exporting dairy products to China from the perspective of products and their overseas producers and exporters.

For products, it mainly includes requirements for country level access approval, official certificates, test reports, etc.; for overseas producers and exporters, it mainly includes requirements such as GACC registration, exporter filing, and conformity assurance.

• Country Level Access Approval

China implements country level access approval for imported dairy products. GACC conducts a risk assessment of the countries (regions) and their products that apply for the import of dairy products for the first time, and only products from countries that have been assessed and approved by GACC are allowed to be imported. For the list of dairy products that have been approved by the state, please refer to the "Information System for Exporting Foods to China from Countries or Regions that Meet the Requirements for Assessment and Review and Have Traditional Trade" (http://43.248.49.223/index.aspx).

• Official Health Certificate

  
  

According to Announcement No. 114 of 2021 of GACC (Announcement on Clarifying the Relevant Requirements for Inspection and Quarantine of imported Dairy Products), imported dairy products must be accompanied by a health certificate issued by the competent government authority of the exporting country or region. The certificate shall have the seal of the competent government department of the exporting country or region and the signature of its authorized person, and the destination shall be marked as the People's Republic of China. The sample of the health certificate shall be confirmed by the General Administration of Customs of China.

• Test Report

For dairy products imported for the first time, the test reports of the items listed in the corresponding national food safety standards shall be provided. The first import refers to the first import of dairy products from the same port with the same information such as overseas production enterprises, product names, formulas, overseas exporters, and domestic importers.

For dairy products that are not imported for the first time, a copy of the first import test report and the test report of the items required by GACC shall be provided. The items in the non-first-time import test report shall be determined by GACC based on the relevant information such as dairy risk monitoring and published on the website of the General Administration of Customs of China (http://jckspj.customs.gov.cn/spj/xxfw39/cpjgzyxx/rp/jckrpjyjyyq/4645075/index.html).

• GACC Registration

Overseas production, processing and storage enterprises exporting dairy products to China shall be recommended for registration by the competent authority of the country (region) where they are located to GACC, and can only export to China after passing the registration of GACC.

For more information, see Export of food products to China - GACC Registration of Overseas Manufacturers of imported Food.

• Exporter Filing

Overseas exporters or agents exporting dairy products to China shall file with GACC. Overseas manufacturers should be familiar with and ensure that the dairy products they export to China comply with China's national food safety standards and relevant requirements.

For more information, see Export of food products to China - The importer and Exporter Record and Conformity Guarantee.

• Other Considerations

• When exporting dairy products to China, they should also comply with the inspection and quarantine requirements for dairy products determined by GACC and the competent authorities of the exporting countries (regions) in the form of bilateral and multilateral agreements such as protocols, such as Announcement No. 156 [2019] of GACC (Announcement on the Inspection and Quarantine Requirements for Dairy Products imported from Vietnam).

• The product formula of infant formula milk powder exported to China is also subject to registration and approval by SAMR.

• According to GACC [2024] No. 158 (Announcement on Adjusting the List of imported Foods Subject to the Quarantine Examination and Approval Administration of imported Animals and Plants), GACC will no longer implement quarantine approval management for dairy products.

On the whole, China's regulatory requirements for imported dairy products follow an international practice, but the specific implementation is full of Chinese characteristics. Follow Global Foodmate to stay up-to-date on the latest policies for exporting food to China.