Voluntary Report - public distribution

**Date:** 4/12/2004

**GAIN Report Number:** CH4007

CH4015

**China, Peoples Republic of**

**FAIRS Product Specific**

**China Publishes Draft Sugar Hygiene Standard**

**2004**

**Approved by:**

![](media/image1.wmf)Maurice W. House

U.S. Embassy, Beijing

**Prepared by:**

James Butterworth, Adam Branson

**Report Highlights:**

This report contains an UNOFFICIAL translation of China's draft Hygienic
Standard for Sugars (GB13104-200X). It also includes China's related
notification to the World Trade Organization (WTO) G/SPS/N/CHN/49, dated
February 13, 2004. It is scheduled to enter into force six months after
adoption. Upon entry into force, this standard will replace China's two
existing sugar hygiene standards, GB13104-1991 and GB14964-1994. Until
such time, however, the cited standardsl remain in force.

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Unscheduled Report

Beijing \[CH1\]

\[CH\]

Table of Contents

[**Disclaimer 3**](#disclaimer)

[Background 3](#background)

[Preamble GB13104-200X Hygienic Standard for Sugars
3](#preamble-gb13104-200x-hygienic-standard-for-sugars)

[GB13104-200x Hygienic Standard for Sugar
4](#gb13104-200x-hygienic-standard-for-sugar)

[1. Scope of Application 4](#scope-of-application)

[2. Standardized Documents Cited 4](#standardized-documents-cited)

[3. Terminology and Definitions 4](#terminology-and-definitions)

[4. Technical Requirements 5](#technical-requirements)

[5. Hygienic Requirements in Production or Processing
6](#hygienic-requirements-in-production-or-processing)

[6. Packaging 6](#packaging)

[7. Labeling 6](#labeling)

[8. Storage and Transportation 6](#storage-and-transportation)

[9. Testing Methods 6](#testing-methods)

[Appendix - WTO Notification G/SPS/N/CHN/49
7](#appendix---wto-notification-gspsnchn49)

# Disclaimer 

While every possible care was taken in the preparation of this report,
information provided may not be completely accurate either because
policies have changed since its preparation, or because clear and
consistent information about these policies was not available. It is
highly recommended that U.S. exporters verify the full set of import
requirements with their foreign customers, who are normally best
equipped to research such matters with local authorities, before any
goods are shipped. FINAL IMPORT APPROVAL OF ANY PRODUCT IS SUBJECT TO
THE IMPORTING COUNTRY'S RULES AND REGULATIONS AS INTERPRETED BY BORDER
OFFICIALS AT THE TIME OF PRODUCT ENTRY.

In the event of any errors or omissions in this translation, the
original Chinese version shall prevail. Furthermore, this is a draft
regulation. Therefore any and all related existing standards shall
remain in force until the final version of this draft standard enters
into force. Changes may occur to this draft standard before the final
standard enters into force. Upon entry into force of the final standard,
this draft standard shall be null and void.

# Background

China's Ministry of Health and the Standardization Administration of
China published a draft Hygienic Standard for Sugars (GB13104-200x).
China's National Notification Authority notified the WTO of the Standard
on February 13, 2004 by notification G/SPS/N/CHN/49. This report was
prepared by the Office of Agricultural Affairs of the USDA/Foreign
Agricultural Service in Beijing, People's Republic of China.

Begin Translation:

# Preamble GB13104-200X Hygienic Standard for Sugars

All contents of this standard are mandatory.

This standard substitutes GB13104-1991 "Hygienic Standard for White
Sugar" and GB14964-1994 "Hygienic Standard for Brown Granulated Sugar".

This standard corresponds to, but is not equivalent, with CAC Codex Stan
212-1999 "CODEX STANDARD FOR SUGARS."

\--In reference to CAC standard, raw cane sugar has been added into this
standard.

\--SO₂ in raw cane sugar conforms to stipulations in CAC standard.

Compared with GB13104-1991 and GB14964-1994, this standard has made the
following amendments:

\--The text format of this standard has been revised in accordance with
GB/T1.1-2000.

\--The original standard has been restructured, added with pesticide
residue for raw can sugar materials (sugar cane and sugar beet),
hygienic requirements in production or processing, as well as
requirements on packaging, labeling, storage, and transportation.

\--Added indices on mold and saccharomycetes.

\--GB13104-1991 and GB14964-1994 will be annulled upon implementation of
this standard.

This standard is proposed and administered by the Ministry of Health.

This standard is drafted by Guangdong Center for Disease Prevention and
Control, Guangzhou Cane Sugar Institute of the National Center for Cane
Sugar Standardization and Testing, China Sugar Association, Beijing
Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Center for Standards and
Technical Regulations of AQSIQ.

Main persons involved in the drafting of this standard: Wang Libin,
Liang Dafeng, Lian Xuezhi, Liang Jin, and Cui Lu.

The release history of versions substituted by this standard:

\--GBn241-1984, GB13104-1991;

\--GBn244-1984, GB14964-1994.

# 

# GB13104-200x Hygienic Standard for Sugar

## 1. Scope of Application

This standard specifies the definitions, index requirements, packaging,
labeling, storage, transportation, and testing methods for raw cane
sugar, white granulated sugar, soft white sugar, and brown granulated
sugar.

This standard applies to raw cane sugar, white granulated sugar, soft
whit sugar, and brown granulated sugar that is produced from raw
materials such as sugar cane or sugar beet.

## 2. Standardized Documents Cited

The clauses in the following documents have been quoted and become that
of this standard. For any cited documents with dates, all the subsequent
modifications (excluding corrections) or revised versions do not apply
to this standard. However, parties having reached an agreement based on
this standard are encouraged to study whether the latest versions of
these documents are applicable. For cited documents without a date,
their latest versions apply to this standard.

GB/T4789.2 Microbiological Testing of Food Hygiene-Determination of

Bacterial Colony

GB/T4789.3 Microbiological Testing of Food Hygiene-Determination of

E. Coli Colony

GB/T4789.4 Microbiological Testing of Food Hygiene-Determination of

Salmonella

GB/T4789.5 Microbiological Testing of Food Hygiene-Determination of

Shigella

GB/T4789.10 Microbiological Testing of Food Hygiene-Determination of

Staphylococcus Aureus

GB/T4789.11 Microbiological Testing of Food Hygiene-Determination of

Streptococcus Hemolytica

GB/T4789.15 Microbiological Testing of Food Hygiene-Calculation of
mould,

Saccharomycetes.

GB/5009.55 Analytical Methods of Hygienic Standard for Sugar

GB/T15108 Raw Sugar

GBxxxx Maximum Levels of Pesticide Residue in Foods

## 3. Terminology and Definitions

The following terminologies and definitions apply to this standard:

3.1 Raw cane sugar

Raw cane sugar, or coarse sugar, refers to cane sugar crystal molasses
but not ready for direct consumption, that is made from sugar cane juice
after being cleaned, boiled, crystallized, and extracted.

3.2 White granulated sugar

White granulated sugar refers to cane sugar crystal made from raw
materials such as sugar cane or sugar beet after juice extraction,
cleaning, boiling, and centrifugation.

3.3 Soft white sugar

Soft white sugar refers to fine-granulated, white color, soft sugar that
is made from raw materials such as sugar cane or sugar beet after juice
extraction, cleaning, boiling, centrifugation, and added with adequate
inverting syrup.

3.4 Brown granulated sugar

Brown granulated sugar refers to red brown or yellow brown granulated
sugar molasses with sugar content no less than 89.0%, that is made from
raw materials such as sugar cane or sugar beet after juice extraction,
cleaning, etc.

## 

## 4. Technical Requirements 

4.1 Raw material

Raw materials such as sugar cane or sugar beet must comply with
stipulations of GBxxxx Maximum Levels of Pesticide Residue in Foods.

4.2 Sensory index

White granulated sugar, soft white sugar: white color, no foreign
matters, no peculiar odors, water solution clear, transparent, sweet.

Raw cane sugar, brown granulated sugar: granules covered with thin layer
of molasses, no obvious spot, no foreign matters, no peculiar odors.

4.3 Physical and chemical index

Physical and chemical indices should comply with the stipulations in
Table 1.

Table 1 Physical and chemical index

+--------------------------------------------+-------------------------+
| Item                                       | Index                   |
+--------------------------------------------+-------------------------+
| Foreign matter not dissolved in water,     | 350                     |
| mg/kg                                      |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| Raw cane sugar ≤                           |                         |
+--------------------------------------------+-------------------------+
| Gross arsenic (As) mg/kg ≤                 | 0.5                     |
+--------------------------------------------+-------------------------+
| Lead (Pb), mg/kg ≤                         | 0.5                     |
+--------------------------------------------+-------------------------+
| Sulfur dioxide (SOsub2) mg/kg              | 20                      |
|                                            |                         |
| Raw cane sugar ≤                           | 30                      |
|                                            |                         |
| White granulated sugar ≤                   | 15                      |
|                                            |                         |
| Soft white sugar ≤                         | 70                      |
|                                            |                         |
| Brown granulated sugar ≤                   |                         |
+--------------------------------------------+-------------------------+

4.4 Microbiological index

Microbiological indices should comply with stipulations of Table 2. The
index does not apply to raw cane sugar.

Table 2 Microbiological index

+-----------------------------------------------+----------------------+
| Item                                          | Index                |
+-----------------------------------------------+----------------------+
| Bacteria colony, cfu/g                        | 100                  |
|                                               |                      |
| White granulated sugar, soft white sugar ≤    | 500                  |
|                                               |                      |
| Brown granulated sugar ≤                      |                      |
+-----------------------------------------------+----------------------+
| E. Coli, MPN/100g ≤                           | 30                   |
+-----------------------------------------------+----------------------+
| Mold, cfu/g ≤                                 | 25                   |
+-----------------------------------------------+----------------------+
| Saccharomycetes, cfu/g ≤                      | 10                   |
+-----------------------------------------------+----------------------+
| Disease germ (Salmonella, Shigella,           | Must not be detected |
| Staphylococcus Aureus, Streptococcus          |                      |
| Hemolytica)                                   |                      |
+-----------------------------------------------+----------------------+

4.5 Other biological index

Acarid: must not be detected.

## 5. Hygienic Requirements in Production or Processing

Should comply with stipulations of GB14881.

## 6. Packaging

Packing materials or containers should comply with corresponding
hygienic requirements for packing materials for foodstuff.

## 7. Labeling

Labeling on packing materials of edible sugar should follow relevant
stipulations.

## 8. Storage and Transportation

8.1 Storage

Products should be stored in dry, ventilated places. Bulk commodity
should be placed in a sealed storage. Sugar must not store with toxic,
hazardous, of peculiar odor, volatile, or corroding goods (substances).

8.2 Transportation

Products should avoid exposure to the sun or rain when transported, and
must not be transported with toxic, hazardous, peculiarly smelled goods.

## 9. Testing Methods

9.1 Gross arsenic, lead, sulfur dioxide

Determined in accordance with GB/T5009.55.

9.2 Biological index

Determined in accordance with stipulations of GB/T4789.2, GB/T4789.3,
GB/T4789.4, GB/T4789.5, GB/T4789.10, GB/T4789.11, and GB/T4789.15.

9.3 Acarid

Determined with floating method: puts 250 grams of sugar in triangular
bottle, fills purified water with temperature of 20-25 degree Celsius to
two-thirds of the bottle, stirs with a clean glass stick until sugar
melted in the water, fills up the bottle with more warm water, covers
the bottle with a clean piece of glass with water touching the cover,
stays 15 minutes, tests under microscope.

9.4 Foreign matters not dissolved in water

Determined in accordance with GB/T15108.

End Translation

# Appendix - WTO Notification G/SPS/N/CHN/49

+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| **[World Trade]{.smallcaps}**                    |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| **[Organization]{.smallcaps}**                   |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
|                                                  |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
|                                                  | *                 |
|                                                  | *G/SPS/N/CHN/49** |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | 13 February 2004  |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
|                                                  | (04-0570)         |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
|                                                  |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| **Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary        | Original: English |
| Measures**                                       |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+

**NOTIFICATION**

+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | **Member to Agreement notifying:** [THE PEOPLE\'S REPUBLIC OF   |
| 1. | CHINA]{.underline}                                              |
| ** |                                                                 |
|    | If applicable, name of local government involved:               |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | **Agency responsible:** Ministry of Health and Standardization  |
| 2. | Administration of China                                         |
| ** |                                                                 |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | **Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified  |
| 3. | in national schedules deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers       |
| ** | should be provided in addition, where applicable):** ICS 67.180 |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | > **Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent   |
| 4. | > relevant or practicable:** EU, Japan, US and Canada           |
| ** |                                                                 |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | **Title, language and number of pages of the notified           |
| 5. | document:** Hygienic standard for sugars, (available in         |
| ** | Chinese, 3 pages)                                               |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | **Description of content:** This standard stipulates the        |
| 6. | definition, index requirements, packaging, marking, storage and |
| ** | determination methods of raw sugar, white granulated sugar, red |
|    | granulated sugar and soft white sugar. This standard applies to |
|    | raw sugar, white granulated sugar, red granulated sugar and     |
|    | soft white sugar made from sugarcane and sugar beet.            |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | **Objective and rationale: \[ X \] food safety, \[   \] animal  |
| 7. | health, \[   \] plant protection, \[   \] protect humans from   |
| ** | animal/plant pest or disease, \[   \] protect territory from    |
|    | other damage from pests**                                       |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | **International standard, guideline or recommendation:**        |
| 8. |                                                                 |
| ** | **\[** **X** **\] Codex Alimentarius Commission, \[   \] World  |
|    | Organization for Animal Health, \[   \] International Plant     |
|    | Protection Convention, \[   \] None**                           |
|    |                                                                 |
|    | **If an international standard, guideline or recommendation     |
|    | exists, give the appropriate reference and briefly identify     |
|    | deviations:** CAC/Codex Stan 212-1999 \"Codex Standard for      |
|    | Sugars\". The standard adds the requirement of raw sugar.       |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | **Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are         |
| 9. | available:** Chinese                                            |
| ** |                                                                 |
|    | > GB 317 White granulated sugar                                 |
|    | >                                                               |
|    | > GB 1445 Soft white sugar                                      |
|    | >                                                               |
|    | > GB/T 4789.2 Microbiological examination of food hygiene       |
|    | > Detection of the total number of aerobic bacterial            |
|    | >                                                               |
|    | > GB/T 4789.3 Microbiological examination of food hygiene       |
|    | > Detection of *Coliform bacteria*                              |
|    | >                                                               |
|    | > GB/T 4789.4 Microbiological examination of food hygiene       |
|    | > Examination of *salmonella*                                   |
|    | >                                                               |
|    | > GB/T 4789.5 Microbiological examination of food hygiene       |
|    | > Examination of *Shigella*                                     |
|    | >                                                               |
|    | > GB/T 4789.10 Microbiological examination of food hygiene      |
|    | > Examination of *Staphylococcus aureus*                        |
|    | >                                                               |
|    | > GB/T 4789.11 Microbiological examination of food hygiene      |
|    | > Examination of *Streptococcus hemolyticus*                    |
|    | >                                                               |
|    | > GB/T 4789.15 Microbiological examination of food hygiene      |
|    | > Enumeration of molds and yeasts                               |
|    | >                                                               |
|    | > GB/T 5009.55 Method for analysis of hygienic standard of      |
|    | > sugars                                                        |
|    | >                                                               |
|    | > GB 7718 The universal standard of food labels                 |
|    | >                                                               |
|    | > GB 14881 General hygienic regulation for food enterprises     |
|    | >                                                               |
|    | > GB/T 15108 Raw sugar                                          |
|    | >                                                               |
|    | > QB/T 2343.2 Examination method of red granulated sugar        |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| *  | **Proposed date of adoption:** To be determined                 |
| *1 |                                                                 |
| 0. |                                                                 |
| ** |                                                                 |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| *  | **Proposed date of entry into force:** 6 months after adoption  |
| *1 |                                                                 |
| 1. |                                                                 |
| ** |                                                                 |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| *  | **Final date for comments:** Sixty days after the date of       |
| *1 | notification                                                    |
| 2. |                                                                 |
| ** | **Agency or authority designated to handle comments:            |
|    | \[   \] National notification authority, \[ X \] National       |
|    | enquiry point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if    |
|    | available) of other body:**                                     |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| *  | **Texts available from: \[   \] National notification           |
| *1 | authority, \[ X \] National enquiry point, or address, fax      |
| 3. | number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:**       |
| ** |                                                                 |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+