There are still a wide range of food products that are denied entry: snacks, fruits and vegetables, meat, aquatic products, beverages, dairy products and so on, almost none of them, without exception, even well-known international brands like Gerber, can escape from it, according to the "list of denied entry food information" from January to May issued by the customs this year.

The reasons for denied entry are varied, but they can be roughly divided into three kinds according to their types: product reasons, access reasons and certificate reasons.

Product reasons are mainly quality problems of products, such as the use of food additives beyond the range or limit, the use of nutrient supplements beyond the range or limit, excessive use of microorganisms and beyond the shelf life and so on.

The access reasons mainly refer to the food which needs to be imported cannot enter the country, for the source country of which has not obtained the access, or the overseas production enterprise of which needs to complete the entry-exit inspection and quarantine registration in China but has not yet completed.

The reasons for certificates refer to incomplete documents, such as the failure to submit relevant certificates or conformity certificate materials, as well as the inconsistency of goods and certificates, unqualified packaging, unqualified labels, and other problems.

Now, let's have a look at these common reasons in detail.

Product Reasons

First of all, we should know that the national standards applicable to food safety in China are equally applicable to imported food.

This is based on the requirements of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, which came into force on October 1, 2015. Article 92 stipulates that imported food, food additives, food-related products shall meet China's national food safety standards. In this context, it is not difficult to understand why imported food will appear a variety of over-standard and over-range situations. Here's a look at some of these common situations.

01 the Use of Food Additives Beyond the Range or Limit

According to "GB 2760-2014 National Food Safety Standards, Use Standards of Food Additives", there are strict regulations on which food additives can be used, on which foods and how much.

These regulations are equally applicable to imported food.

Therefore, special attention should be paid to the fact that some food additives that are allowed to be used in certain food products abroad may be used beyond the range in China, while food additives that are not over standard abroad may be used beyond the limit in China.

For example:

In the list of food that were not allowed to enter the country in May released by the customs, the category of Kiddylicious veggie straws produced by Kiddylicious International Limited in the UK is not included in the list of permitted food items added with the food additive "calcium chloride", so it is used beyond the scope.

In the same list, Poppies International NV Pauline macaron mixed-flavored pastries, made in Hong Kong, were intercepted for "over-limit use of food additives", but the list did not specify how much they were used. The maximum amount of sorbic acid used in pastries is 1.0 g / kg according to the criteria mentioned above, beyond which the limit is exceeded.

02 Over-Range or Over-Limited Use of Nutrient Supplements

In addition to food additives, there are nutrient supplements.

According to "GB14880-2012 National Food Safety Standards, Use Standards of Nutrient Supplements in Food", there are also strict regulations on which nutrient supplements can be used, on which foods and how much.

Imported food is equally subject to these rules. Otherwise, the foods will also be refused entry if the scope of use is beyond the limit, or if the usage is over the prescribed standards.

Let's take another example: in the list of food that were not allowed to enter the country in May released by the customs, the Lactoferrin Modified Milk Powder from Australian company Healthcare PTY was intercepted for "over-range use of nutrient supplements called fructo oligosaccharides".

According to the standards mentioned above, fructo oligosaccharides are only allowed to be used in "milk powder for children" and "milk powder for pregnant and lying-in women". Therefore, it is over-range use for modified milk powder which is not in this range.

And in the list of food products that were not allowed to enter the country in January released by the customs, the all-love active calcium Ca (cranberry juice drink), produced by Taiwan Xinsheng Biotechnology Co., Ltd., was refused entry because of "excessive use of calcium, a nutrient supplement".

The list did not specify which category the drink falls into. According to the use standard of nutrient supplements, if the beverage belongs to "fruit and vegetable juice (meat) beverage (including fermented products, etc.)", the usage of calcium should be in the range of 1000mg / kg ~ 1800mg / kg.

Those below 1,000 mg / kg or over 1,800 mg / kg are not eligible.

03 Microorganism out of Limits

It is also very common for foreign foods being refused entry because of excessive mold, total bacterial count and coliform bacteria, and there are a wide range of varieties, such as biscuits and other puffed foods, solid drinks, nuts, seaweed, breakfast cereals and cereals powder, and so on.

In fact, the state has corresponding food safety requirements for each food item.

Nori, for example, is subject to the GB 19643-2016 National Food Safety Standards for Algae and its Products, in which the limit of microorganisms should meet the corresponding requirements (as shown in figure).

Other foods can be reasoned out by analogy

Whether the food has excessive microorganisms can be determined by obtaining the corresponding bacterial colony data according to the designated test method, and then comparing with the standard.

04 Beyond Shelf Life and Deterioration

Among the numerous reasons for customs interception, expiration is also a major reason that leads to the rejection of customs clearance.

Due to objective and uncontrollable factors in transport, customs clearance and a series of procedures, it is easy to cause expiration for some imported food with shorter shelf life, or food near its expiration date.

For some food with improper packaging or the food itself easy to mildew or to be spoiled, such as meat and fresh food, there may be corruption, pollution and so on.

And some food, even if they are not expired, will also be spoiled due to improper packaging, or packaging damage in the process of transport.