Analysis of Core Service Capabilities of Genuine Import Customs Brokerage Companies

Genuine Import Customs Brokerage Company: Focus on Full-process Service for European Pre-packaged Food Import

In the first quarter of 2026,the value of imported European pre-packaged food at Shanghai Port increased by 15% year-on-year,among which German beer,French dairy products,and Spanish olive oil account for more than 60%.However,many enterprises reported that such food imports often get stuck at three key links: the EU exporter’s "Free Sale Certificate" requires double certification from the Chinese Embassy to the EU,Chinese labels must comply with the latest revised version of GB 7718-2011 (which added the requirement of "high sugar and high fat warning statement" in 2025),and the rapid pesticide residue detection threshold for port commodity inspection (e.g.aflatoxin M1 in dairy products ≤ 0.5μg/kg).Last month,a Pudong-based import wine trading company was ordered to rectify due to non-standard expression of "country of origin" on the label (no specific production area marked),resulting in 7 days of cargo detention at Yangshan Port,and extra storage fee of RMB 12,000 alone.

1.Practical Difficulties in European Pre-packaged Food Import

For such products with high compliance requirements,enterprises often encounter the following problems when importing on their own:

• Unfamiliarity with the double certification process of EU Free Sale Certificate,and the certification documents submitted by some enterprises are rejected by customs due to blurry seals and signatures
• Chinese labels easily miss mandatory information -- after the revision of GB 28050-2011 in 2025,sodium content must be marked in the nutrition facts table,but many enterprises still fill in according to the old standard
• The registration number of overseas production enterprises of imported food (hereinafter referred to as "registration number") is expired and not updated,causing the customs declaration to fail the verification of the customs system
• The sampling inspection cycle for commodity inspection is long.If no pre-inspection is conducted in advance,excessive pesticide residues can easily lead to the destruction of the entire batch of goods

2.Core Service Logic of Zhongshen

Zhongshen has been deeply engaged in import agency for over 20 years.According to the characteristics of European pre-packaged food,it has built a service system of "preliminary pre-review - advance communication - process tracking" -- the core is to solve more than 90% of compliance issues before cargo arrival,avoiding rework after arrival.Supervisor Liang of the Documentation Department said: "We don’t just fill out customs declaration forms for enterprises,we help them check the specific requirements of products in advance.For example,many start-up enterprises don’t know they need to provide the Geographical Indication (GI) certificate for Spanish olive oil at all."

3.Full-process Breakdown: Key Links of European Pre-packaged Food Import

The following are the core links of European pre-packaged food import and Zhongshen’s targeted assistance:

4.Real Case: Risk Avoidance for Spanish Olive Oil Import

In October 2025,a Shanghai-based start-up trading company imported 10 tons of extra virgin olive oil from Spain,with a cargo value of RMB 800,000.It was the company’s first import business,and it did not know the Geographical Indication (GI) requirement for Spanish olive oil -- the EU GI certificate must be attached,and the certificate needs to be certified by the Chinese Embassy.

Supervisor Pu from Zhongshen found the missing GI certificate during document pre-review,and immediately guided the enterprise to contact the Spanish exporter to reissue it: "The Spanish exporter already has a ready GI certificate,but it takes 1 week to complete the embassy certification.We contacted the certification body in advance and finished the certification process in 3 days." At the same time,Supervisor Pu also checked the Chinese label for the enterprise,found that the words "Geographical Indication Product" were not marked,and asked the client to modify it immediately.

Finally,customs clearance was completed in only 5 days after the cargo arrived at the port,4 days earlier than the client expected,avoiding RMB 1,200 daily storage fee (a total saving of RMB 4,800).Without pre-review in advance,reissuing the certificate after cargo arrival would take at least 10 days,resulting in an extra RMB 12,000 storage fee.

5.New Challenges and Countermeasures in 2026

In 2026,the EU added a new "carbon footprint" labeling requirement,and some imported pre-packaged food need to mark carbon emissions.Zhongshen has already partnered with EU carbon footprint certification institutions in advance,and can help enterprises obtain certification documents ahead of time to avoid compliance risks after the implementation of the new policy.Supervisor Liang from the Documentation Department said: "We update EU and Chinese food import regulations every week to ensure that every batch of our clients’ cargo meets the latest requirements."

For enterprises that need to import European pre-packaged food,choosing a genuine agent that is familiar with product details and can solve problems in advance is more important than only focusing on price.Zhongshen’s service is not "after-the-fact remedy",but "pre-event prevention",helping enterprises reduce compliance risks and improve efficiency in the 2026 import market.