WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/CHN/90 
3 October 2005 
 (05-4383) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
NOTIFICATION 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
 
If applicable, name of local government involved:   
2. Agency responsible:  Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China 
(SAC)  
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where 
applicable):   
Inoculants of Rhizobium 
Inoculants of Azotobacter Inoculants of Phosphate-dissolving  Bacteria Inoculants of Silicate Bacteria 
Inoculants of Photosynthetic Bacteria 
Inoculants of Organic Matter-decomposing 
Inoculants of Plant Growth-promoting Bacteria Inoculants of Mycorrhizas 
Inoculants of Bio-remediation  
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:  All 
countries  
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document :  "Microbial Inoculants in 
Agriculture" (Available in Chinese, 18 pages)  
6. Description of content:   
This standard prescribes the definition, cl assification, technical requirements, testing 
method, inspection rules, marking, packing, transportation and storage of Microbial 
Inoculants for Agricultural use.  Main technical requirements: 
Table 1  Technical requirements  for Microbial inoculants for Agricultural use 
Type 
Item liquid powder granule 
Quantity of Target living Micro-
organism(cfu)a, 108/g(mL) ≥ 2.0 2.0 1.0 
Quantity of mold(cfu), /g(mL) ≤ 3.0×106 3.0×106 3.0×106 
Percentage of Contaminative 
Microorganism, % ≤ 10.0 20.0 30.0 
Moisture Content, % ≤ - 35.0 20.0 
Particle Size, % ≥ - 80 80 
pH  5.0~8.0 5.5~8.5 5.5~8.5 
Shelf lifeb, month ≥ 3 6 G/SPS/N/CHN/90 
Page 2  
 
 a. For the inoculants with mixed microbial cultures, the quantity of each microorganism 
is no less than 10
6/g(mL),and for the inoculants coming from single culture of Silicate 
Bacteria( Bacillus mucilaginosus ), the quantity of the microorganism is no less than 
1.2×108/g(mL). 
b. This item is tested only when the s upervising department or the both sides of 
arbitration think it is necessary.  
 
Table2  Technical requirements  for Inoc ulants of Organic Material-decomposer 
Type Item liquid powder granule 
Quantity of target living 
microorganism(cfu), 108/g(mL) ≥ 1.0 0.50 0.50 
Activity of cellulase a, u/g (mL) ≥ 30.0 30.0 30.0 
Activity of proteinaseb, u/g(mL) ≥ 15.0 15.0 15.0 
Moisture content, % ≤ - 35.0 20.0 
Particle size, % ≥ - 70 70 
pH  5.0~8.5 5.5~8.5 5.5~8.5 
Shelf lifec, month ≥ 3 6 
a. It uses crops such as stalks as decompo sed object to test activity of cellulase. 
b. It uses animal and poultry excrement  as decomposed object to test activity of 
proteinase.  
c This item is tested  only when the s upervising department or the both sides of 
arbitration think it is necessary. 
 
 Table 3  Sanitary requirements  for Mi crobial inoculants for Agricultural use  
Item  requirement 
Quantity of fecal coliforms, /g(mL) ≤ 100 
Mortality of ascarid egg, % ≥ 95 
Content of arsenic(As), mg/kg ≤ 75 
Content of cadmium (Cd), mg/kg ≤ 10 
Content of lead(Pb) , mg/kg ≤ 100 
Content of chrome(Cr) , mg/kg ≤ 150 
Content of Mercury (Hg) , mg/kg ≤ 5 
Some provisions in this national standard ar e mandatory, such as Article 5.1, 5.3 and the 
provisions concerning marking, packing, transportation and storage in chapter 8  , and the 
rest provisions are voluntary 
This national standard is applicable to micr obial fertilizers produced and sold within China.  
7. Objective and rationale: [   ] food safety,  [   ] animal health,  [ X ] plant protection, 
[   ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [   ] protect territory from other damage from pests   
8. International standard, guideline or recommendation: 
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission,  [   ] World Organization for Animal Health 
(OIE), [   ] International Plant Protection Convention,  [ X ] None 
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate 
reference and briefly identify deviations:    G/SPS/N/CHN/90 
 Page 3 
 
 
 9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:   Available in Chinese  
NY 227-1994 Microbial Fertilize  
NY 410-2000 Inoculants of Rhizobium NY 411-2000 Inoculants of Azotobacter 
NY 412-2000 Inoculants of Phosphate-dissolving  Bacteria 
NY 413-2000 Inoculants of Silicate Bacteria NY 527-2002 Inoculants of Photosynthetic Bacteria NY 609-2002 Inoculants of Organic Matter-decomposing  
10. Proposed date of adoption:  90 days after circulation by the WTO Secretariat  
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  Six months after adoption  
12. Final date for comments:  60 days after circulation by the WTO Secretariat  
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:   
13. Texts available from:  [   ] National noti fication authority, [ X ] National enquiry 
point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body: