2026 Full-Process Operation Guide and Compliance Key Points for Imported Food Customs Brokerage

Entering 2026,domestic consumer demand for imported food has shown a trend of refinement and diversification.Tropical fruits from Southeast Asia,dairy products and snack foods from Europe have flooded the Chinese market in large quantities.However,opportunities are often accompanied by complex compliance challenges.The General Administration of Customs has continuously strengthened supervision over imported food,with increasingly strict requirements for overseas manufacturer registration,label review and quarantine approval.Many importers often face cargo detention at ports and incur high container demurrage and storage fees due to inconsistent documents or label defects during operations.Against this background,professional customs brokerage services have become a key link to ensure smooth import of food.

Zhongshen,a professional foreign trade agency with over 20 years of experience in the industry,is well aware of the particularity and rigor of food import.What we provide is not just simple declaration services,but a full-process solution covering document pre-review,label rectification,logistics coordination and subsequent customs clearance.Through professional operations,we help customers minimize customs clearance time and reduce logistics costs under the premise of compliance.

Document Pre-Review and Compliance Confirmation

The first hurdle for imported food is not at the port,but at the document preparation stage before shipment.In the 2026 regulatory environment,the official audit logic for documents has been upgraded from "document consistency" to "consistency among documents,certificates and goods".Any minor information discrepancy may lead to document return or customs inspection.

The senior operation team of Zhongshen will intervene before the goods depart to conduct a strict pre-review of core documents.This stage mainly involves verifying the certificate of origin,health certificate,composition analysis report and test report.Director Cheng pointed out that many first-time importers often overlook the inconsistency between the shipping mark information on the certificate of origin and the actual outer packaging,which is a high-risk item in the current inspection system.We will check one by one whether the manufacturer’s name,address and registration number on the certificate are fully consistent with the registered list published by the General Administration of Customs.

In addition,for specific types of food,such as meat,aquatic products or dairy products,it is also necessary to confirm whether the entry animal and plant quarantine license is available.Zhongshen will assist customers in sorting out the cancellation status of the license,ensure that the import is completed within the validity period,and avoid the risk of cargo return due to expired licenses.

Chinese Label Review and Rectification

Chinese labels are the core of imported food compliance and a key focus of port inspections.According to national food safety standards such as GB 7718-2024 and GB 28050,imported food must be labeled with Chinese labels that comply with Chinese regulations.In 2026,regulatory authorities have conducted more detailed reviews of labels,especially standard checks on the format of nutrition composition tables,allergen warnings and the usage of food additives.

During the brokerage service,Zhongshen will conduct a compliance pre-review based on the original foreign labels and translations provided by customers.We will focus on checking the following contents:

• Whether the additives in the ingredient list use the general names in GB 2760 and whether there is any over-range use.
• Whether the rounding interval and labeling unit of the nutrition composition table meet the requirements of the latest standards.
• Whether allergen information is labeled in accordance with regulations.

Once we find that the label has a mandatory compliance risk,we will immediately propose a rectification plan,advising customers to affix qualified Chinese labels before shipment abroad or carry out rectification in the bonded area.This pre-review can effectively avoid the heavy losses of forced destruction or return of goods due to unqualified labels after the goods arrive at the port.

Detailed Explanation of Port Declaration and Commodity Inspection Procedures

After the goods arrive at the port,they officially enter the declaration and commodity inspection links.Under the customs clearance mode of "one declaration,one inspection,one release",the accuracy of the customs declaration form data directly determines the customs clearance speed.Zhongshen accurately enters information such as commodity code,name,specification and model,and country of origin through the Single Window system.

Food imports involve legally inspected goods,which must be subject to sanitary supervision sampling by the customs.At this stage,the coordination ability of Zhongshen is particularly important.We will closely monitor the instructions of the customs system.Once random sampling or mandatory inspection occurs,we can quickly cooperate with the customs to arrange sampling and assist in sending the samples to the designated laboratory for testing.For goods that need to be affixed with quarantine seals,we will ensure standardized on-site operations to avoid subsequent penalties caused by damaged seals.

To improve efficiency,Zhongshen usually chooses to declare at ports with complete food inspection facilities.These ports often have faster laboratory testing processes,which can significantly shorten the waiting time for test results,ensuring that fresh or short-shelf-life food can be put on the market as quickly as possible.

Risk Avoidance and Practical Case Sharing

In actual operations,compliance risks are often hidden in details.Ms.Cao once encountered a typical case: a customer imported a batch of high-end biscuits from Europe.After the goods arrived at Yangshan Port in Shanghai,they were selected for inspection by the customs system.The inspecting customs officer found that although the content of the Chinese label seemed complete,a certain nutritional fortifier used was not allowed in the standards for this type of biscuits.

Since the customer did not seek professional label consultation before shipment,the batch of goods faced the dilemma of being returned or destroyed.After Zhongshen intervened,Director Cheng quickly consulted relevant standards and the latest risk assessment reports,and found that this ingredient was actually allowed in the new regulations at the end of 2025,but a specific safety assessment report was required.We immediately instructed the customer to contact the foreign factory to reissue the relevant technical documents,and submitted a statement and compliance basis to the customs.After multiple rounds of communication,the customs finally approved the supplementary materials,and the goods were released.

This case fully shows that professional customs brokerage is not just about filling out forms,but also about in-depth application of regulations and crisis handling.Without Zhongshen’s timely intervention and ability to interpret regulations,the customer would have faced millions of dollars in direct losses.

Comparison of Common Food Import Risk Points

To more intuitively display the risks and response strategies during the import process,we have summarized the following key control points:

Conclusion

Imported food is a systematic project involving multiple fields such as international trade,logistics,laws and regulations,and food safety.Against the background of normalized supervision in 2026,importers who only explore the declaration process on their own often struggle to cope with sudden policy adjustments and inspection risks.With 20 years of industry experience,Zhongshen has built a mature food import brokerage service system.From the source control of documents to on-site emergency handling at ports,we have built a solid compliance firewall for customers through professional services.Choosing Zhongshen is not just choosing a customs brokerage service,but also choosing a partner who can calmly cope with complex trade environments and ensure the safety and stability of the supply chain.