China: FAIRS Country Report
China’s food regulatory regime continues to evolve. In 2017, China issued numerous new regulations and measures to reflect the requirements introduced under the 2015 Food Safety Law. Most notably, China notified a revised draft of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Food Safety Law in August 2017. As part of these implementation efforts, China notified revisions to inspections and quarantine regulations (AQSIQ Decree 144) in September. China issued technical documents and guidelines to implement registration requirements for special foods (CFDA Decrees 24 and 26). Similarly, in 2017, China announced plans to develop standards for limits on agrochemicals residues. Starting January 1, 2018, China is expanding the application of Cross Border E-Commerce (CBEC) policies on imports to five more cities: Hefei, Chengdu, Dalian, Qingdao and Suzhou. Lastly, also in 2017, China reopened its market and issued new procedures allowing U.S. beef imports.
This report attempts to capture the key Chinese food standards and provisions that relate to imported products destined for the Chinese market. It also notes changes or modifications to existing standards. Given China’s current dynamic food regulatory environment, it is highly recommended that U.S. exporters verify the full set of import requirements with their foreign customers prior to shipping goods to the Chinese market.
