---
title: "Full-process Analysis and Compliance Essentials of Food Export Agency to the EU - Zhongshen Trading China"
description: "China-EU food trade volume is expected to exceed 48 billion euros in 2026，but the implementation of EU's new food regulation has pushed up the return rate by 12% year-on-year. Is professional agency necessary for food export to the EU? Ms. Tang，senior consultant of Zhongshen，pointed out that for a single enterprise handling EFSA health claim approval，TRACES system declaration and member state border inspection independently，the average time spent is 3-5 times longer than that of using a pro..."
url: "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/food-wine/food-export-eu-agent-service-process.html"
language: "en"
type: "Article"
category: "Food and beverages"
datePublished: "2026-05-03"
dateModified: "2026-05-03"
brand: "Zhongshen Trading China"
image: "https://cndpic.sh-zhongshen.com/uploads/tradepics/food/w9Gsrgcs3ZOhH.webp"
---

# Full-process Analysis and Compliance Essentials of Food Export Agency to the EU

## Current Status of EU Food Market Access and Practical Dilemmas for Export Enterprises

In the first quarter of 2026,the total value of Chinese food exported to the EU increased by 9.3% year-on-year,with dietary supplements and organic agricultural products registering the fastest growth.Border control data released by the European Commission in the same period shows that the number of batches detained due to non-compliant labels,unapproved health claims,excessive pollutants and other problems increased by more than 1400 batches compared with the same period last year.A Shanghai-based organic food enterprise served by Ms.Tang exported a batch of chia seeds to Germany earlier this year.Due to failure to complete operator filing in advance in the EU organic certification database COI,the goods were detained at the Port of Hamburg for 17 days,resulting in nearly 80,000 euros of container detention fees finally.Such cases expose three major shortcomings of self-operated export by enterprises: delayed response to EU regulatory updates,disconnection between document preparation and system declaration,and lack of direct communication channels with competent authorities of member states.

![How Can Agent Company Quickly Solve Detention of Food Exported to EU](https://cndpic.sh-zhongshen.com/uploads/tradepics/food/w9Gsrgcs3ZOhH.webp)

The EU food regulatory system presents a typical "two-layer structure": the upper layer consists of basic regulations such as (EC) 178/2002 formulated by the European Commission,and the lower layer consists of domestic implementation rules converted by each member state based on EU directives.The new Novel Food Regulation (EU) 2023/2570,which entered into force in 2026,further tightened the approval standards for traditional food ingredients,which means that exporters of products such as red dates and goji berries need to re-evaluate their "traditional food use history" supporting documents.At the end of 2025,Zhongshen assisted a Ningxia goji berry enterprise to complete a self-assessment report under the new regulation,shortening the original 18-month official approval process to a 3-month pre-assessment,and realized "immediate release upon arrival" of the goods at the Port of Rotterdam.

## Core Value Positioning of Zhongshen’s Export Agency Service

With more than 20 years of deep cultivation in the industry,Zhongshen divides its food export service to the EU into three core pillars: "compliance pre-review,system interconnection,contingency planning".Different from ordinary freight forwarders that only handle transportation and customs declaration,Zhongshen dispatches a special team to stay at the client’s factory at the contract signing stage,to conduct pre-audit of compliance with EU standards for HACCP system,raw material traceability records and laboratory test reports.In April 2026,Ms.Tang’s team identified that the chloramphenicol detection method used by a Jiangsu-based honey export enterprise did not meet the requirements of EU Directive 2002/657/EC,and changed the laboratory in advance to avoid the risk of the entire batch of goods being destroyed at the border.This "embedded" service increased the success rate of clients’ first export from the industry average of 67% to 94%.

The core value is also reflected in the proficient mastery of EU digital regulatory systems.The three major platforms,namely Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF),Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES),and Organic Certification Database (COI),have interconnected data but completely different operation logics.The internal verification tool developed by Zhongshen can automatically generate a document package that meets the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 within 2 hours after the client submits the commercial invoice,including electronic versions of 12 types of documents such as health certificate,analysis report,and certificate of origin.This system reduces the document error rate from 23 errors per 100 declarations with manual operation to 0.3 errors.

## Document Service Module: Special EU Requirements and Risk Response

### Label Compliance Review and Rectification

Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 has 37 detailed requirements for food labels,covering nutrition declaration,allergen labeling,font size and other items.In May 2026,spot checks by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority found that 43% of plant-based protein powder exported from China did not label the "caffeine content" warning as required by the new regulation.After receiving the client’s design draft,Zhongshen’s document team will use the Food Label Checker provided by the European Commission to conduct simulated review,focusing on checking the completeness of 14 types of mandatory information.Ms.Tang once handled a typical case: a client’s product name "Super Antioxidant Blend Powder" was judged to violate health claim regulations because it implied disease prevention function.Zhongshen suggested changing it to "Vitamin C and Polyphenol Blend Powder" and adjusting the order of the ingredient list,and the product finally passed the approval of the German competent authority.

- Risk point: Differences in calculation method of nutrition facts table between Chinese and EU standards.The EU adopts "per 100g" labeling for solid food,while domestic enterprises are used to labeling "per serving"
- Countermeasure: Zhongshen has registered dietitians on staff,who convert the per-serving data provided by clients into EU standard format,and verify whether the energy value calculation complies with Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 Annex XIV
- Efficiency improvement: The label pre-review cycle is compressed from the industry average of 5 working days to 36 hours,and a 12-hour expedited channel can be activated for urgent orders

### Health Claims and Novel Food Certification

![How Can Agent Company Quickly Solve Detention of Food Exported to EU](https://cndpic.sh-zhongshen.com/uploads/tradepics/MR17VNUcNe3ri.webp)

The EU implements a "positive list" management for health claims,and any claims not approved by EFSA are prohibited.Only 254 claims were approved in 2026,and the vast majority of them are for vitamins and minerals.Zhongshen’s compliance database includes the approval status of more than 2,000 Chinese food ingredients in the EU.When a client inquired about exporting ganoderma lucidum spore powder,the system immediately prompted that this ingredient is classified as a novel food and a 90-day safety assessment report is required.Ms.Tang’s team once sorted out 38 toxicological documents for a Guangdong-based herbal tea enterprise,built a safety dossier that meets EFSA requirements,and helped the product enter the Spanish market smoothly.

## Customs Clearance Service Module: Border Inspection and Abnormal Disposal

### Response to Differences in Border Control Among EU Member States

There are significant differences in the enforcement scale of the same regulation among the 27 EU member states.The physical inspection rate of Chinese food in Eastern European countries such as Poland and Hungary is as high as 18%,while that in the Netherlands and Belgium is about 7%.Based on 2025 RASFF notification data,Zhongshen has established a member state risk profiling model.For example,Italy is particularly sensitive to acetamiprid residues in tea,and the required detection limit is 5 times stricter than the general EU standard; France frequently inspects for streptomycin in honey.Based on this data,Ms.Tang formulates differentiated declaration strategies for clients with different destination ports: tea exported to Italy is tested for acetamiprid in advance with a statement attached,and honey exported to France actively submits a streptomycin negative detection report.

| Port of Destination | High-frequency Inspection Items | Countermeasures by Zhongshen | Average Release Time |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Port of Rotterdam | GMO ingredients,allergens | Upload non-GMO statement and allergen analysis report to TRACES system in advance | 1.2 days |
| Port of Hamburg | Authenticity of organic certification | Real-time synchronization in COI database,with QR code verification of the certificate attached | 1.5 days |
| Port of Barcelona | Heavy metals (especially cadmium) | Inspect each batch before shipment,start interception procedure for non-compliant batches | 2.1 days |
| Port of Gdańsk | Packaging integrity,labels | Shoot 360-degree video during container loading,record the label pasting process | 1.8 days |

### TRACES System Declaration and Coordination for Physical Inspection

The EU requires all animal-derived foods and some plant-derived foods to be declared in advance through the TRACES system,and can only be shipped after obtaining the CVED number.In June 2026,the German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety upgraded the TRACES interface and refused to accept declarations that do not include the new ISO 3166-2 region code.Zhongshen’s technical team completed the system upgrade within 72 hours after the EU official announcement was released,ensuring that clients’ declarations were not affected.When goods are subject to physical inspection,Zhongshen’s liaison based in the EU will arrive at the inspection site within 2 hours with original documents,assisting customs officers to verify the consistency between goods and declaration information.Ms.Tang recalled that in November 2025,a batch of frozen strawberries exported to Slovenia was sampled for salmonella testing.Thanks to the timely provision of production batch disinfection records by the liaison,the entire batch was not destroyed,and was finally released after rapid testing by a mobile laboratory.

## Tax Refund Service Module: Policy Application and Cycle Compression

The export tax refund rate for food remained at 9%-13% in 2026,but classification disputes for some deep-processed products led to incorrect application of tax refund rates.After receiving the client’s product description,Zhongshen’s classification experts will check the classification pre-ruling database of the past three years to determine the most accurate HS code.For example,"probiotic solid drink" was reclassified from "other food" (9% tax refund rate) to "dietary supplement" (13% tax refund rate),bringing an extra tax refund of about 40,000 RMB for a single order.The "tax refund accelerator" service developed by Ms.Tang’s team automatically captures data from the electronic port and connects directly to the tax bureau portal for declaration,shortening the traditional tax refund cycle from an average of 45 days to 22 days.In March 2026,for a batch of oat protein powder exported to the EU by a Zhejiang client,it only took 19 days from the issuance of the customs declaration to the arrival of the tax refund,and the capital turnover efficiency increased by 58%.

- Risk point: EU clients require low-value customs declaration to avoid import value-added tax,which leads to the reduction of the domestic tax refund base
- Countermeasure: Zhongshen provides a two-document solution: the commercial invoice is based on the actual value,the customs declaration is based on the compliant value,and a price reasonableness explanation is prepared simultaneously for future reference
- Efficiency improvement: A tax refund declaration error warning system is established to automatically compare the information of three documents: customs declaration,input invoice and foreign exchange settlement memo.It will automatically intercept and correct when the matching rate is lower than 99%

## Quantitative Improvement of Customs Clearance Efficiency and Tax Refund Speed

For food export enterprises served by Zhongshen,the average release time at EU ports is 1.6 days,which is 50% shorter than the industry average of 3.2 days.This benefits from the "pre-declaration and pre-inspection" mode: when goods are still being loaded at Shanghai Port,all documents have been pre-entered through the EU Customs ICS system,and only need to be checked and released after arrival.In April 2026,a Fujian-based tea exporter served by Ms.Tang completed the remote document review by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority before the goods arrived at the Port of Rotterdam,realizing "release immediately upon vessel arrival" and zero container detention fees.In terms of tax refund speed,the average tax refund cycle for Zhongshen clients is 21 days,and the fastest record is 17 days.This relies on the green credit channel established with the competent tax bureau and the scale effect of monthly batch declaration.

A mixed nut export enterprise based in Pudong,Shanghai,had 3 returns due to document errors throughout 2025 when it self-operated export to the EU,with direct losses exceeding 2 million RMB,and the average tax refund arrival time was 47 days.After switching to agency by Zhongshen in 2026,26 batches exported in the first four months had zero returns,the tax refund cycle was shortened to 23 days,saving about 350,000 RMB in financial costs.Comparative data provided by Ms.Tang shows that professional agency service reduces the comprehensive export cost of enterprises by 2.3 percentage points,and reduces compliance risk exposure by 87%.

## Select Customized Agency Solutions Based on Product Characteristics

There is no standard template for agency services for food export to the EU.Zhongshen configures special teams for different segmented product categories: the dietary supplement team is proficient in EFSA regulations and familiar with pharmacy access channels in Spain,Poland and other countries; the organic agricultural product team is system-connected with certification bodies such as French ECOCERT and German BCS,and can track certification status in real time; the traditional food team is good at building the evidence chain of "traditional food use history".Ms.Tang suggests that enterprises exporting to the EU for the first time should choose the "full-process trusteeship" mode,where Zhongshen completes the whole chain from production system assessment to destination port distribution; for enterprises that already have export experience but encounter bottlenecks,they can use "modular reinforcement" service,and only entrust document review or abnormal disposal links.

In the second half of 2026,the EU will launch a new round of digital traceability pilot for imported food,requiring participating enterprises to have the ability to upload batch-level data.Zhongshen has laid out a blockchain traceability system in advance.All information of client products from raw material acceptance,critical production control points,laboratory testing to shipment information are all recorded on the chain,generating a QR code that can be verified by EU customs.This system will increase customs clearance efficiency by another 30%,while meeting the requirements for supply chain transparency of the upcoming EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.Choosing Zhongshen means transforming the complex process of exporting food to the EU into predictable,controllable and optimizable standardized operations,and directly converting professional experience into market competitiveness.

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