Helping Global Food Manufacturers Access the China Market

A reliable assessment should examine the product's full composition, production process, degree of processing, intended use, packaging form, storage conditions, HS code, CIQ code, country or region of origin and any bilateral protocol. Commercial product names alone are often insufficient. For example, fresh fruit, frozen fruit, dried fruit and a sweetened fruit preparation may fall under different access and registration pathways.

GACC Order No. 280 took effect on 1 June 2026 and repealed Order No. 248. The new framework continues risk-based registration but introduces a dynamic official-recommendation catalogue, a possible list-registration route for qualifying countries or regions, simplified baseline application materials and automatic renewal for most compliant registrations. The applicable route still depends on the product, country or region of origin, market-access status and GACC's current risk-management requirements.

Where an establishment is covered by Order No. 280 but its product is outside the official-recommendation catalogue, the establishment may generally submit the application itself or appoint an agent. The product must still be correctly classified, eligible for import and compliant with any product-specific requirements. “Outside the 17-category catalogue” does not mean “outside regulation.” It identifies the registration route, not a waiver of food-safety, labelling, inspection, quarantine or customs requirements.

Not necessarily. Feed, feed additives and pet food may be subject to separate animal and plant quarantine, product-access, overseas-establishment and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs requirements. The imported-food route under Order No. 280 should not be applied automatically. A separate assessment should identify the product's intended use, ingredients, processing method, origin, applicable protocol and competent authority before any application is prepared.