Labelling and marking is one of the major reasons why products exported to China get stuck at the Chinese customs. The Chinese authorities require that all products imported and sold in China meet specific labelling and marking requirements, which are stipulated in Chinese national standards.

For F&B products, according to various national standards (e.g. GB 7718 for Food Labelling Standards, GB 13432, 28050 and 10344 for labelling of pre-packaged food, etc), in general the labelling should contain information on: specification, net content; producer name, address and contact details; name of the importer and distributor in China; table of ingredients and nutrition facts; production date, shelf life / expiration date; storage requirements; name of food additives; code of product or national standards; and other information in line with applicable regulations and food safety standards. With the entry into force in 1 January 2022 of GACC Order 248, the 18-digit China Registration Code obtained after registration on GACC platform (see corresponding FAQ above) must also be displayed on the label.

All labelling and marking must be registered and approved by Chinese authorities before the products are actually shipped to China. F&B products generally require the label in Chinese and English to be registered (in both paper and electronic) through CIQ: only after approval your product is allowed to be exported.