Imported health products
Currently, many foreign health food products are imported to China as general food. This practice will be more difficult to do in the future, with any imported food due to be inspected by AQSIQ and Customs to determine if its certificates and registrations match the product.
The drafts states to import any food which has no related regulation and standards in China, the importer should submit the food safety standard, international standards, inspection results, documents of legal manufacturing from the country of origin to the Ministry of Health, which will then decide to apply those standards or not.
To import new species of food additives or food related products, importers should submit an application to MOH, as well as safety assessment documents. Importers should check the quality of the overseas exporters and manufacturers to ensure the food imported is in accordance with China's laws and regulations on food safety. The importers are responsible for the content on the labels and instructions of imported food products.
AQSIQ maintains an overseas manufacturers list and has the right to visit any foreign facilities to conduct an audit and/or stop the import of any food products that violate China's regulations or standards.
The pre-package imported food products should contain Chinese labels and instructions, which should follow China's regulations and laws. The labels and instructions should state the product name, size, net weight, manufacturing date, supplement facts, ingredients, shelf life, storage, suitable group, original country and the company name, address and contact information of both manufacturer and distributor. Importers should keep a record for import and sales. The record should be kept on file for at least two years.