1 Provisions on the Administration of the Registration of 
Foreign Manufacturers of Imported Foods 
 
Chapter I General Provisions 
 
Article 1 These Provisions are hereby enac ted with a view to strengthening the 
supervision and administration of forei gn manufacturers of imported foods and in 
accordance with provisions of  laws and administrative regulations such as the Food 
Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China  and its Regulations for Implementation  
as well as the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Import and Export 
Commodity Inspection and its Regulations for Implementation , etc. 
 Article 2 These Provisions apply to the re gistration as well as the supervision and 
administration of foreign production, proces sing and storing ente rprises exporting 
foods to China (hereinafter referred to as  foreign manufacturers of imported foods).  
 Article 3 The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of Chin a (hereinafter referred to as the AQSIQ) 
uniformly administrates the registration of  foreign manufactures of imported foods. 
The Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the CNCA) orga nises and implements the registration of 
foreign manufactures of imported foods  as well as their supervision and 
administration.  Article 4 The Implementation Catalogue of  Registration of Foreign Manufacturers 
of Imported Foods (hereinafter referred to as the Catalogue) shall be established and 
adjusted by the CNCA, and published by the AQSIQ.  The registration review procedure and techni cal requirement for products of different 
categories in the Catalogue shall be separa tely developed and released by the CNCA. 
 Article 5 Foreign manufacturers of foods listed in the Catalogue shall not be 
allowed to export their products to China without registration. 
 
Chapter II Registration Conditions and Procedure 
 Article 6 Registration conditions for fo reign manufacturers of imported foods:  
 1) Registration-related systems in the count ry (region) where th e enterprise is 
located have passed the assessment, such as the veterinary services system, the 
plant protection system, and the public health management system;   
2 2) The country (region) where th e enterprise is located sh all be free of certain 
animal and plant epidemic diseases, and animal and plant raw materials used in 
the foods exporting to China shall come  from epidemic disease-free areas; 
 
3) The enterprise is subject to the approval and effective supervision of relevant 
competent authorities of the country (region) where it is  located, and its sanitary 
conditions shall comply with relevant pr ovisions of Chinese laws and regulations 
as well as standard specifications. 
 Article 7 In order to apply for registra tion, foreign manufacturers of imported 
foods shall pass the recommendation of the competent authorities of the country 
(region) where it is located or by other stipulated ways to the Certification and 
Accreditation Administration of  the People’s Republic of Ch ina (also called CNCA) ,  
and submit certificating documents and the fo llowing materials in line with Article 6 
of the Provisions; all of the relevant material submitted should be Chinese or English 
texts:  1) Relevant laws and regulations of the c ountry (region) where the enterprise is 
located with regard to animal and plant epidemic diseases, veterinary health, public health, plant protec tion, pesticides and vete rinary drug residues, 
registration administration and sanitary re quirements of food ma nufacturers, etc., 
as well as written materials concerning th e organisational struct ure and staffing of 
competent authorities in th e country (region) where the enterprise is located and 
the enforcement of laws and regulations, etc.;  
2) List of foreign food manufactur ers applying for registration; 
 
3) Answer sheet of assessment conducted by competent authorities in the country 
(region) where the enterprise is located fo r actual quarantine a nd health control of 
the recommended enterprise;  
4) Commitment of competent authoritie s in the country (region) where the 
enterprise is located that the recommende d enterprise complies with requirements 
of Chinese laws and regulations;  
5) Relevant materials of the enterprise (a pplication for business registration, plan 
views of factory, workshop, and cold st orage, process flow charts, etc.). 
 Article 8 The CNCA shall organise experts or designated agencies to review the 
material submitted by competent authorities of  the country (region) where the foreign 
food manufacturer is located or  by other prescribed means, and organise a review 
team consisting of at least 2 members to conduct on-site review as needed. 
 The review personnel shall pa ss the assessment by the CNCA.  
3  
Article 9 The review team shall conduc t review according to the review 
procedures and requirement for products of di fferent categories in  the Catalogue, and 
submit the review report to the CNCA.   The CNCA shall examine the review report according to the work ing procedure, and 
determine whether to accept registration or  not. Those who meet the registration 
requirement will be registered, and a written notice will be given to competent authorities of the country (region) where th e foreign food manufactur er is located; in 
case of refusal to register, a written notic e with explanations will be given to 
competent authorities of the country (regi on) where the foreign food manufacturer is 
located.  The CNCA shall uniformly publish the list of  registered forei gn food manufacturers 
on a regular basis, and report to the AQSIQ.  Article 10 The registration shall be  valid for a period of 4 years. 
 In the event that the forei gn food manufacturer needs to re new the term of validity of 
its registration, it shall apply for renewa l of registration to the CNCA through 
competent authorities of the country (region)  where it is located or  by other prescribed 
means one year before the term of validity expires. 
 In the event that the manufactur er fails to apply for renewal of registration within the 
time limit, the CNCA shall cancel its registration and make an announcement. 
 Article 11 When the registration particular s of registered foreign food manufacturer 
have changed, the manufacturer shall info rm the CNCA in a tim ely manner through 
competent authorities of the c ountry (region) where it  is located or by  other stipulated 
ways. The CNCA shall settle down the corr esponding problems according to specific 
changes and report to the AQSIQ.  Article 12 The registered foreign food manufacturer shall truthfully label the registration number on the outer package of their foods exporting to China. 
 Any false use or transfer of re gistration number is prohibited. 
 
Chapter III Registra tion Administration 
 
Article 13 The CNCA superv ises and administers the foreign manufacturers of 
foods listed in the Catalogue by the law, and organises experts or designated agencies 
to conduct re-examination when necessary. Article 14 If upon the re-examination it is found that the registered foreign food 
manufacturer is not able to keep meeti ng the requirement for registration, the CNCA  
4 shall suspend its qualification for regist ration and report to the AQSIQ for the 
suspension of the import of relevant products , and also inform competent authorities 
of the country (region) where the ma nufacturer is located, and make an 
announcement.  Competent authorities of the country (regi on) where the foreign food manufacturer is 
located shall supervise the enterprise that is  subjected to ratification to complete the 
rectification within the time limit, and submit the written ratification report as well as 
the written commitment to meeting the requirements of Chinese laws and regulations to the CNCA. Only those that passed the re view by the CNCA can continue to export 
foods to China.  Article 15 Under any of th e following circumstances, the CNCA shall cancel the 
registration of the registered foreign food manufacturer and repor t to the AQSIQ, and 
also inform competent authorities of the country (region) where the manufacturer is 
located, and make an announcement:  1) Occurrence of serious food sa fety incidents in connection with imported foods for 
reasons attributable to th e foreign food manufacturer; 
 
2) Serious non-conformance is found by f ood entry inspection and quarantine; 
 
3) Significant food safety and health management problems are found by the 
inspection, which makes the safety and h ealth of their products un-guaranteed; 
 
4) Failure to meet the registration requirements after rectification; 
 
5) Providing false materials or concealing the facts; 
 
6) Borrowing, falsely using, altering, forging or transferring the registration number. 
 Article 16 When the importe d food listed in the Catalogu e enters the country, the 
entry-exit inspection and quarantine author ities shall check whether it is produced by 
the registered manufacturer, and whether th e registration number is true and accurate; 
for those found in the inspection that fail to  meet the statutory requirements, certain 
measures shall be taken according to rele vant laws and administrative regulations 
such as the Law of the People’s Republic of Ch ina on Import and Export Commodity 
Inspection . 
 Article 17 In case releva nt parties import foods ma nufactured by foreign food 
manufacturers that are subject to the regi stration administration but have not been 
registered, the entry-exit inspection and quarantine authorities shall, according to 
Article 52 of the Regulations for the Implementati on of the Law of the People's 
Republic of China on Import and Export Commodity Inspection , order them to cease  
5 such import, confiscate the illegal income, and impose a penalty amounting to 
10%-50% of the value of goods.  
Chapter IV Supplementary Provisions 
 
Article 18 Where international organisation or competent authori ties of the country 
(region) exporting foods to China release ep idemic situation announ cement, or serious 
problems such as epidemic or out-of-cont rol public health is  found in the entry 
inspection and quarantine, the CNCA w ill not accept the registration of food 
manufacturers recommended by competent aut horities of such c ountry (region) during 
the period that the AQSIQ a nnounces to suspend the import  of relevant foods from 
such country (region).   Article 19 Competent author ities of the country (regi on) where the foreign food 
manufacturer is located shall assist the review team assigned by the CNCA in the on-site review and re-examination.  Article 20 Registration administrati on of production, processing and storing 
enterprises exporting foods li sted in the Catalogue to mainland China in the Hong 
Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan shall be implemented in light of these 
Provisions.  Article 21 For the purpose of these Provisi ons, competent authorities of the country 
(region) include official depa rtments, official authorisat ion agencies as well as 
industrial organisations that ar e responsible for relevant food safety and health in the 
country (region) where the fore ign food manufacturer is located. 
 Article 22 The General Administration of  Quality Supervision, Inspection and 
Quarantine of the People’s Republ ic of China is responsible  for the interpretation of 
these Provisions.  Article 23 These Provisions will be implemented from March, 2012. The original 
Provisions on the Administration of th e Registration of Foreign Producers of 
Imported Foods published by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, 
Inspection and Quarantine of the People’ s Republic of China on March 14, 2002 shall 
be repealed on the same date.