Application Guide for Recommendation on Food Manufacturer Registration (Applicable to Export of the Specified 18 Categories of Food Products to the Mainland)

Purpose

The purpose of this guide is to provide general guidance for local food manufacturers who wish to register with the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China ("the GACC") for the export of the specified 18 categories of food products to the Mainland in accordance with Decree No. 248 of the GACC. The 18 categories of food products include meat and meat products, casings, aquatic products, dairy products, bird's nests and bird's nest products, bee products, eggs and egg products, edible oils and fats and oilseeds, stuffed pastry products, edible grains, milled grain industry products and malt, fresh and dehydrated vegetables and dried beans, condiments, nuts and seeds, dried fruits, unroasted coffee beans and cocoa beans, foods for special dietary purposes and functional foods. This Department will handle cases of food products which are under our purview.

Application Criteria

2. This Department will assess the eligibility of an applicant, i.e. food manufacturer for recommendation to the GACC on its registration. An application must meet the following basic criteria:

The applicant must hold a valid food factory licence issued by this Department for manufacturing and processing the relevant food product;
A food safety management system with relevant certification (such as ISO 22000 certification) must be in place in the food factory concerned. The scope of the food safety management system must include but not limited to raw material control, production process control, food quality control and product traceability control;
The GACC has confirmed that the food product can be exported to the Mainland; and
The food product must comply with the national standard of the People's Republic of China.

Submission of Application

Online Application

3. Traders who have opened user accounts in the Food Trader Portal (FTP) may submit application for Recommendation on Food Manufacturer Registration at FTP website: (www.ftp.cfs.gov.hk).

Paper Mode Application

4. The applicant has to submit a completed application form (FEHB 333) together with the required documents to the Centre for Food Safety of this Department at 43/F, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong by post or email (fsc@fehd.gov.hk).

5. As to the certificate with relevant test report issued by a recognised institute certifying that the food product complies with the national standard of the People's Republic of China, the applicant may make reference to the Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme ("HOKLAS") for the organisations and laboratories accredited for food testing services. The applicant may also consider other organisations and laboratories which are the Mutual Recognition Agreement partners of HOKLAS, such as the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS).

Application Fee

6. The fee for each application is HK$9,331 and is non-refundable regardless of whether the recommended registration is finally accepted by the GACC or not.

Notes for Attention

7. The applicant should pay attention to the following:

In addition to the required information and documents, this Department may require the applicant to provide other supplementary information and documents depending on individual circumstances.
If the information and/or documents provided by the applicant are insufficient, this Department may suspend processing the application until the applicant has provided all the required information and documents.
If all the required information and documents provided by the applicant have met the registration requirements and the application fee has been paid, recommendation on registration may be completed within 21 working days.
Acceptance of the recommendation on registration is entirely the decision of the GACC.
If the recommendation on registration is accepted by the GACC, the applicant must ensure that each consignment of the food product exported to the Mainland complies with the relevant laws and requirements there.

Enquiries

8. For enquiries, please contact the Food Import and Export Section of this Department (Tel.: 2867 5560; Fax: 2521 4784; Email: fsc@fehd.gov.hk).

Centre for Food Safety
Food and Environmental Hygiene Department