Customs Knowledge: Inspection and Quarantine of Frozen Fruit

Requirements for inspection and quarantine of frozen fruits imported from Central and Eastern European countries

 

 

 

Product names allowed for entry

 

Frozen fruits

 

Frozen fruits refer to fruits that have undergone rapid freezing treatment at -18 ° C or below for no less than 30 minutes after removing inedible fruit skins and kernels, and are stored and transported at -18 ° C or below, in accordance with the requirements of the International Food Standards "Code of Practice for Processing and Handling of Frozen Foods" (CAC/RCP 8-1976).

 

 

 

Countries allowed to import

 

Central and Eastern European countries exporting frozen fruits to China

 

 

 

Permitted processing plants and quick freezing facilities

 

The frozen fruit processing factories and frozen processing facilities exported to China must be registered with the competent authorities of the exporting country (hereinafter referred to as the "official" of the exporting country) and provided to the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Chinese") for review, and the registration shall be jointly approved by both parties. The registration list can be found on the website of the General Administration of Customs.

 

The registration information includes the types of exported products, as well as the corresponding export enterprise name, address, and registration number, in order to accurately trace the source when the exported goods do not meet the requirements of this inspection and quarantine.

 

In the first year of this project, the Chinese side organized experts to conduct on-site evaluations or remote video audits of frozen fruit processing plants exported to China. Afterwards, if additional frozen fruit processing plants are added to China, the exporting country's official needs to provide verification materials for the Chinese side to conduct an evaluation. If necessary, the Chinese side will conduct on-site evaluation and review.

Pre export requirements

 

Orchard management

 

1. Frozen fruit orchards exported to China should implement Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), adopt Integrated Pest Control Measures (IPM), or apply the principle of Integrated Production (IP) to reduce or avoid the occurrence of harmful organisms.

 

Orchard growers should regularly test fresh fruits for pesticide residues, heavy metals, and other toxic and harmful substances to ensure compliance with China's national food safety standards. The exporting country should implement management and supervision of the orchard and provide testing reports to the Chinese side upon request.

 

 

 

Processing plant management

 

1. The procedures for quick freezing and refrigerated transportation of frozen fruits exported to China must be carried out under the official supervision of the exporting country.

 

2. Frozen fruit processing plants exporting to China must implement a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system, and prepare, process, store, and transport frozen fruits in accordance with the requirements of the International Food Standard "Code of Practice for Frozen Food Processing and Handling" (CAC/RCP 8-1976) to ensure the quality and hygiene of frozen fruits. The processing plant must establish a traceability system that can be traced back to the orchard from the processing plant.

 

3. The processing plant should manually select fresh fruits, remove diseased fruits, remove insects, mites, branches and leaves, and soil from the surface of the fruits. The packaging, storage, and transportation process of frozen fruits should be kept clean and hygienic, and have good hygiene conditions.

 

4. The processing plant should regularly detect pesticide residues, heavy metals, and other toxic and harmful substances in frozen fruits to ensure compliance with China's national food safety standards. The official of the exporting country should conduct spot checks and provide testing reports to the Chinese side upon request.

 

5. The processing plant must strengthen staff protection and prevent products and packaging from being contaminated by COVID-19 in accordance with the requirements of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on protection against COVID-19.

 

 

 

Packaging requirements

 

1. Frozen fruits exported to China must be packaged with new, clean, and hygienic materials that comply with Chinese plant quarantine requirements and safety and hygiene standards. Each packaging box should be labeled in Chinese or English with information such as fruit name, export country, origin, processing plant name or registration number, exporter, packaging date, shelf life, and net weight.

 

2. Each tray of frozen fruits exported to China shall be marked with "Exported to the People's Republic of China" in Chinese or English. If pallets are not used, the same markings need to be used on each packaging box.

 

3. If wooden packaging is used, it should comply with International Plant Quarantine Measures Standard No. 15 (ISPM15).

 

 

 

Pre export inspection and quarantine

 

Before export, the official of the exporting country should conduct inspection and quarantine on each batch of goods at a rate of 2%. If pathogenic microorganisms, pesticide residues, heavy metals, etc. exceed China's mandatory standard limits, the batch of goods shall not be exported to China.

 

 

 

Official Certificate Requirements

 

For each batch of frozen fruits that pass inspection and quarantine, the official of the exporting country should issue a health certificate, hygiene certificate, or plant quarantine certificate, as well as other equivalent certificates, and indicate in the additional statement of the certificate that "The signature is in compliance wi