In 2026,the demand for high-quality imported food in China’s domestic consumer market still maintains a strong growth trend.From Southeast Asian snacks to European craft beer,delicacies from all over the world are continuously flowing into China.However,behind the prosperous trade,the compliance pressure faced by importers is increasing year by year.The continuous update of registration management for overseas production enterprises by the General Administration of Customs,as well as the strict review of food additives,nutrition composition tables and Chinese labels,makes food import no longer simple cargo transportation,but a severe test of professionalism and meticulousness.Many enterprises new to food import often have goods detained at the port due to unfamiliarity with the latest access requirements or document details,facing high port demurrage and even the risk of return and destruction.

As a professional foreign trade import and export agency with more than 20 years of deep cultivation in the industry,Zhongshen has accumulated rich practical experience in the field of food import.We know that every link of food import allows no carelessness.Our core role is to transform complex regulatory provisions into actionable specific implementation plans.Before goods depart,we intervene in document pre-examination to ensure source compliance; after goods arrive at the port,we use our communication mechanism with various port regulatory authorities to assist customers to quickly respond to inspection instructions and solve problems such as label defects.Zhongshen is not only the operator of customs declaration and inspection,but also the controller of customers’ import compliance risks.

Document Pre-Examination and Label Compliance Processing

The first checkpoint of food import is not at the port,but at the documentation stage.Complete documents are the prerequisite for smooth customs clearance.Under the 2026 regulatory environment,customs requirements for "document-goods consistency" have reached an unprecedented level.After receiving a customer’s import intention,Zhongshen will immediately launch the document pre-examination procedure,focusing on verifying the completeness and accuracy of certificate of origin,sanitary certificate,composition analysis report and authorization chain documents.

Among them,Chinese label review is the most problematic link in food import.According to national standards,imported food must be affixed with a Chinese label that conforms to Chinese laws,regulations and food safety standards.Many importers are ordered to rectify after goods arrive at the port because they ignore the ingredient list order,Nutrient Reference Value (NRV) calculation or font size specification.

• BasicDocumentCheck:Includingcertificateoforigin,sanitarycertificate/healthcertificate,certificateoforigin,compositiontestreport,fillingdatecertificate,etc.toensurethattheinformationiscompletelyconsistentwiththeactualgoods.
• LabelElementAudit:CheckwhethertheChineselabelindicatesfoodname,ingredientlist,netcontent,producerinformation,productiondateandshelflife,storageconditions,countryoforiginandnutritioncompositiontable.
• SpecialRequirementsReview:Forfoodcontainingallergens,reviewwhetheritisprominentlymarkednearoradjacenttotheingredientlist;forspecialcategoriessuchasorganicfoodandgeneticallymodifiedfood,verifyrelevantcertificationdocuments.
• LargeBulkCargoHandling:Forfoodimportedinlargepackagesandtoberepackaged,assistcustomerstoapplyforentryanimalandplantproductpermits,andreviewthequalificationofrepackagingenterprises.

Zhongshen has a professional document operation team,which can pre-audit the Chinese label drafts provided by customers according to the latest GB7718 and GB28050 standards.When potential risks are found,we will put forward modification suggestions in time to avoid rectification due to label problems after goods arrive at the port,thus saving valuable customs clearance time.

Port Customs Declaration and Statutory Commodity Inspection Process

After goods arrive at Shanghai Port,the official customs declaration and commodity inspection process starts immediately.Food is a legally inspection-required commodity,which can only be sold and used after passing customs inspection and quarantine.In this stage,Zhongshen’s operation focuses on accurate declaration and efficient cooperation with inspection.

We declare according to the HS Code determined in the pre-examination stage,which is a crucial step.HS Code not only determines the tariff rate,but also determines regulatory conditions.With rich classification experience,Zhongshen ensures accurate food classification and avoids customs clearance delays caused by classification disputes.After declaration,the customs will conduct document review,inspection or sampling inspection according to system instructions.

Comparison of Food Categories and Inspection Focus

Different categories of food have different inspection priorities at the port.Understanding these differences helps us prepare countermeasures in advance.The following table sorts out the regulatory priorities of common food categories:

When encountering customs inspection,Zhongshen’s declarant will arrive at the site immediately to assist customs officers in unpacking and checking goods.If sampling testing is required,we will closely follow up the progress of the testing institution,and quickly assist customers to obtain the Sanitary Certificate after the test result is issued.For unqualified test results,we will assist customers to analyze the reasons according to the test results and formulate a treatment plan of return,destruction or technical rectification to minimize customers’ losses.

Practical Case Sharing: Label Rectification and Rapid Customs Clearance

To more intuitively show the role of agency service in risk avoidance,let’s look at a real operation case.Mr.Ouyang is the person in charge of a trading company focusing on high-end imported food ingredients.In early 2026,he imported a batch of high-value olive oil from Europe.

Before the goods arrived at the port,Mr.Ouyang sent the relevant documents and Chinese label draft to Zhongshen for pre-examination.Our operators found during the review that although the Chinese label of this batch of olive oil marked trans fatty acid as 0,it missed the standard term of "nutrition claim",and the name of a vegetable oil extract used in the ingredient list did not adopt the general name specified by national standards.Although this is only a minor defect on the label,under the strict supervision in 2026,it is very likely to be judged as unqualified label,facing the risk of rectification and re-labeling.

Zhongshen’s operator immediately contacted Mr.Ouyang,pointed out the two errors in the label,and provided specific modification suggestions that meet national standards.Since the goods were still on the sea transportation,Mr.Ouyang had enough time to notify the overseas factory to reprint and replace the compliant Chinese label.After the goods arrived at Shanghai Port,customs carried out on-site inspection.Because the label was fully compliant,the goods passed the document review and inspection smoothly without any rectification.

Afterwards,Mr.Ouyang said that if there was no early intervention of Zhongshen,this batch of goods would definitely be detained for label rectification after arriving at the port.This would not only generate tens of thousands of yuan in terminal operation fees and storage fees,but also cause the goods to miss the pre-Spring Festival sales season,resulting in immeasurable indirect losses.Through this case,it can be seen that professional agency service is not just doing on-site work,but also saving hidden costs for customers and protecting business opportunities.

Conclusion

Food import is a complex process involving multi-department collaboration including customs,commodity inspection,health,market supervision and other authorities.In the 2026 market environment,compliance cost has become a non-negligible part of import trade.With more than 20 years of deep cultivation in the industry,Zhongshen can provide customers with full-process support from document pre-examination,label filing,port customs declaration to logistics distribution.We are familiar with the import access requirements of various foods,and can accurately identify and resolve potential compliance risks.Choosing Zhongshen as a partner allows enterprises to focus more energy on market sales and brand operation,and leave the cumbersome customs clearance procedures to us,so as to win the dual advantages of efficiency and safety in the fierce market competition.