2021-31: China: Dairy, Seafood, Honey and Other Edible Non-prescribed Goods: Advice to food processing and storage facilities managing issues arising from the implementation of China’s new registration and labelling requirements

Date of issue: 23 December 2021

Date of effect: 1 January 2022 to Until Further Notice

Reference Number: MAA2021- 31

Attention:

• Industries—Industry bodies – Dairy Australia – Infant Nutrition Council, Seafood Export Consultative Committee, Australian Honey Bee Industry Council, Australian Food and Grocery Council
• Export dairy and seafood establishments
• Exporters
• Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment — Central and Regional offices

Purpose:

Further to the latest Market Access Advice on this matter (MAA2021-48 (Dairy), MAA2021-28 (Seafood), MAA2021-22 (NPG)), the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment is providing advice to food processing and storage facilities handling product for export to China, encountering issues arising from the implementation of China’s requirements for imported food. This advice also provides further confirmation surrounding the registration numbers required on labelling for food processing and storage facilities exporting to China.

For more information on these requirements, please refer to the department’s ‘Have Your Say’ webpage. This webpage includes frequently asked questions as well as recordings of two department led webinars on China’s new requirements. Market Access Advice (MAA) and Industry Advice Notices (IAN) relevant to China’s new requirements can be accessed via:

• Meat Market Access Advice *note: this may require log in details for access.
• Seafood Market Access Advice Notices
• Dairy notices and advices
• Non-prescribed goods Market access advice notices
• Plant Export Industry Advice Notices

Registration numbers and labelling requirements

As per previous advice, the enforced labelling requirements apply to food products produced on or after 1 January 2022.

The department can confirm that the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) have reiterated that either competent authority issued registration number (the department issued ER number) or GACC issued registration number should be included on both the inside and outside packaging labels.

The department understands that for products departing after 1 January 2022, a ‘China registration number’ is required by Chinese importers in order to obtain an import permit for customs clearance.  The ‘China registration number’ means either the competent authority issued registration number (the department issued ER number) or GACC issued registration number.

All facilities manufacturing Article 7 products have a department issued ER number which can be used for this process.  The department is aware that GACC is still yet to issue the GACC specific registration numbers for commodities listed under Article 7 of Decree 248 and no timeframe has been indicated for when this will be actioned.

For Article 9 products requiring self-registration, a ‘China registration number’ will be issued by China via the Single Window after applications have been approved.

Further to advice provided in MAA2021-18, the department has received guidance that there is no set format for labelling of products, except that the labelling is to be presented in a way that is easily distinguishable to Chinese customers.

The department has also received clarity surrounding the inclusion of the storage facility registration number on the inner and outer labels. GACC have confirmed that only the processing facility registration number should appear on the inner and outer label. There is no need to include the registration number of the third-party or storage facility. However, it is worth noting that the processing facility registration number on the label should be consistent with the registration number appearing on health certificates.

Section 1: December 2021/January 2022 holiday shut down operating hours

The department’s Canberra office will close from 5pm AESDT, Friday, 24 December 2021 and will re-open for the commencement of business on Tuesday, 4 January 2022.

For urgent issues only relating to detained consignments arising from the implementation of China’s new registration and labelling requirements during the period of 25 December 2021 – 3 January 2022, please email the department directly through exdoc.helpdesk@aff.gov.au as well as call 02 6272 4700.

Please note: this contact is only to be used for urgent issues relating to detained consignments during the period of 25 December 2021 – 3 January 2022. Any enquiries relating to China’s new requirements (urgent or non-urgent) outside of the timeframe stipulated above and sent to this contact, will not be actioned.

For all other non-urgent enquiries, your enquiry will be responded to upon return to normal business on or after 4 January 2022. For these non-urgent enquiries, please ensure you send your enquiry to the appropriate contact on or after 4 January 2022, found at Attachment 1.

Section 2: Advice for facilities with detained consignments of product

Following the implementation of China’s new requirements, the department has identified the following key issues that food storage and processing facilities may encounter. These issues may apply to food processing and/or storage facilities exporting both Article 7 and Article 9 products to China from 1 January 2022 onwards. For more information on the definition of Article 7 and Article 9 food products, please refer to MAA2021-14 and MAA2021-15. 

• The food processing and/or storage facility is not registered with the GACC.
• The food processing and/or storage facility registration was submitted to GACC but is not yet appearing on any approval list and/or the facility has not been issued with a GACC registration number.
• The food processing and/or storage facility is registered with GACC, but the details are incorrect or inconsistent with GACC’s records.
• The food product exported does not meet the labelling requirements.

The following section applies only to product which is detained by China customs post 1 January 2022 and not product in transit, nor product not yet presented for clearance with China customs. 

2.1 The food processing and/or storage facility is not registered with GACC.

Article 7 foods

Your facility will not be eligible to export food products to China until an application for registration has been submitted by the department to GACC and approved by GACC. If your food processing and/or storage facility is not appropriately registered and approved by GACC to export the food products to China, you will need to return the product to Australia (refer to Section 3 for more information) or, if applicable, re-direct the product to an alternative market.

Advice on how to submit new registration applications for Article 7 food products will be released by the department in the new year. Submission and assessment timeframes by GACC for new registration applications are currently unknown, and this may cause trade delays.

Article 9 foods

Your facility will not be eligible to export food products to China until an application for self-registration has been submitted and approved by GACC through their Single Window System (Single Window). 

If your food processing and/or storage facility is not appropriately self-registered through the GACC Single Window, and approved to export the food products to China, you will need to:

• immediately submit an application through the Single Window
• return the products to Australia (refer to Section 3), or
• re-direct products to an alternative market, if applicable

For the latest advice on how to submit an application to self-register your facility for Article 9 food products, please refer to MAA2021-22. Alternatively, the department advises you work closely with your importer, agent or directly with GACC to ensure the appropriate registration with GACC is submitted and approved prior to exporting to China.

The department reminds facilities that the Single Window is owned and administered by GACC, and the department does not have oversight of the information submitted by facilities, nor the status of applications submitted through this system for Article 9 products.

2.2 The food processing and/or storage facility registration was submitted to GACC but is not yet appearing on any approval list.

Article 7 foods

If your food processing and/or storage facility has submitted an application to the department for registration, but your facility has not been published on the GACC approved lists of registered facilities, please advise the department using the appropriate contact provided in Section 1. Please ensure that you are using the appropriate contact for the time period of your enquiry.

Article 9 foods

If your food processing and/or storage facility has self- registered through the Single Window, however this has not been published by GACC, the department advises you seek assistance through your importer, agent or directly through GACC.

The Single Window is owned and administered by GACC, and the department does not have oversight of the information submitted by facilities, nor the status of applications submitted through this system.

2.3 The food processing and/or storage facility is registered with GACC however the details are incorrect/inconsistent with GACC records.

Article 7 foods

If your food processing and/or storage facility is registered with GACC, however the GACC published registration details are incorrect, please advise the department using the appropriate contact provided in Section 1. Please ensure that you are using the appropriate contact for the time period of your enquiry.

Article 9 foods

If your food processing and/or storage facility is self-registered with GACC, however the GACC published registration details are incorrect in the Single Window, the department advises you to work closely with your importer, agent, GACC or port officials to ensure records are updated or amended to be correct.

2.4 The product does not meet the labelling requirements. 

As per MAA2021-18, the department understands new labelling requirements will only apply to products produced on or after 1 January 2022. Please refer to previous Market Access Advice for more information on China’s new labelling requirements.

Article 7 foods

If the product exported does not meet the labelling requirements, and the product is not a food of special dietary use/health food, over-stickering or supplementary labels of the required/correct information may be accepted as an interim solution. The department advises you to liaise closely with your importer, agent, and port officials for assistance and to seek resolution of the issue. Note, this option may be subject to China customs port official approval and may depend on the type of product that has been exported.

For foods of special dietary uses and health foods, adhesive product labels will not be accepted, as required information must be printed on the minimum sales packaging. You will need to consider returning products to Australia (refer to Section 3) or re-directing products to an alternative market.

If you continue to encounter difficulties, please contact the department using the appropriate contact provided in Section 1 for assistance.

Article 9 foods

If the product exported does not meet the enforced labelling requirements, over-stickering or supplementary labels of the required/correct information may be accepted as an interim solution. The department advises you to liaise closely with your importer, agent, and port officials for assistance and to seek resolution of the issue. Note, this option may be subject to China customs port official approval and may depend on the type of product that has been exported.

If you continue to encounter difficulties, please contact the department using the appropriate contact provided in Section 1 for assistance.

Section 3: Advice for returning product to Australia

Returning Australian products may be subject to assessment by the department to determine the biosecurity risk. An import permit may be required to enter Australia. For more information, please refer to Returning Australian products

Conditions to return/re-import consignments will vary depending on the state of the shipping container seals, as applicable.

Enquiries should be directed to imports@aff.gov.au.   

3.1 Products which are exported in containers with official department approved container seals

If the official department approved container seals have remained intact, then an import permit will not be required to facilitate entry back into Australia. The consignment details need to be lodged on Cargo Online Lodgement System (COLS) which is available on the department’s website. Once this has been lodged, the import team will provide a direction as to what biosecurity action is required next. This will most likely be an inspection to confirm the status of the official department approved container seals.

Email the following documents, where available, to returnedexportfood@awe.gov.au

• Documentation such as bill of lading, health certificates etc.
• Reason for return
• Expected date of arrival
• Port of return
• Intention (re-export, reworking etc).

For more details regarding import conditions, search for ‘Returning Australian products’ on Australian Biosecurity Import Conditions – BICON.

3.2 Products which are not exported in containers with official department approved container seals or the container seals have been broken

The department will need to assess the import requirements for those consignments that were exported without an official department approved container seal or where the shipping container seals have been broken. To make this assessment the department will require the following information:

• Export bill of lading
• Export health certificate
• Reason for return e.g., official notice of rejection issued by the government customs or quarantine authority in the county returning the goods.
• A non-manipulation certificate issued by the government customs or quarantine authority in the county returning the goods. This document should confirm the goods have remained under government control for their entire stay overseas and have not been tampered with or substituted.

In cases where the non-manipulation certificate cannot be obtained, the department may need to work with importers to provide alternative evidence to confirm the goods have not entered the market in China and have not been tampered with or substituted.

In some cases, a permit will be issued by the department that only allows the goods to be re-exported. These goods must remain under biosecurity control at an Approved Arrangements Site (AA Site) in Australia until exported. If the goods are required by the overseas competent authority to be exported from an Approved Export Establishment, then this establishment must also be an AA Site.

Importers can apply for a permit by also searching BICON for ‘Returning Australian products.’

Please note that under the Biosecurity Act 2015 if goods require an import permit, a permit must be issued prior to arrival of the goods into Australian territory. The department encourages you to apply for import permits as soon as possible to allow enough time to complete an assessment prior to goods arriving in Australia.

Attachments

Further information

Contact exportlisting@aff.gov.au if you have any queries.

The information provided in this advice is current at the time of writing and is intended for use as guidance only and should not be taken as definitive or exhaustive. The Commonwealth endeavours to keep information current and accurate, however, it may be subject to change without notice. Exporters are encouraged to verify these details with their importers prior to undertaking production/exports. The Commonwealth will not accept liability for any loss resulting from reliance on information contained in this notice.