Food Import Customs Clearance Process Breakdown: What Key Details Lie Behind the Seemingly Simple Operations?

Snack Food Import: The "Simplicity" and "Complexity" of Customs Declaration Seen from Southeast Asian Snacks

In recent years,specialty snacks from Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Thailand,including dried pineapple,dried mango,seasoned seaweed and others,have gained significantly higher visibility in the domestic market.These products are usually classified as minimally processed foods,and their import procedures seem less complicated on the surface than those of health supplements or meat products.However,it is this perception of "simplicity" that causes many first-time import enterprises to encounter obstacles in practice.As of 2026,requirements of customs and market regulation authorities for imported food labels,additive standards,phytosanitary certificates and production enterprise registration information have become increasingly systematic and strict.It is not uncommon for shipments to be detained for inspection at ports due to incorrect unit marking on the nutrition facts table of Chinese labels,or missing required seals on phytosanitary certificates provided by foreign parties,which not only leads to time delays,but may also incur additional storage and rectification costs.

When serving importers in East China,Zhongshen finds that many clients focus on procurement costs and logistics timeliness,and are insufficiently prepared for the pre-compliance work of customs declaration and inspection.In fact,the "simplicity" of food import is precisely built on the basis of professional pre-review and precise operation of every link.Our role is to make these professional requirements hidden behind the process explicit and standardized,and turn clients’ "first-time" exploration into replicable,low-risk and efficient customs clearance.

Stage-by-Stage Breakdown of Core Processes and Zhongshen’s Response Strategies

We divide the import agency process for a shipment of snack foods into three main stages.Each stage has its unique compliance priorities,requiring the agency company to have solid knowledge reserves and practical port operation experience.

Stage 1: Document Pre-review and Filing Preparation

Work starts before the goods are shipped.The goal of this stage is "pre-risk elimination",to ensure that all accompanying documents and domestic declaration materials are accurate.Specific requirements for food import at this stage include:

• Chinese and Foreign Label Review and Filing: According to China’s National Food Safety Standard for General Rules for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (GB7718),imported foods must be affixed with compliant Chinese labels.Supervisor Zheng from Zhongshen points out that common problems include inaccurate translation of ingredient lists,insufficient character height of net content markings,failure to highlight allergen information,etc.After receiving foreign label samples,we will conduct compliance review in advance and produce standardized label templates,guiding foreign parties to affix the labels or arranging label affixing after the goods arrive at the port.
• Certificate of Origin and Quarantine Certificate Verification: For plant-derived foods (such as dried fruits) in particular,it is necessary to verify whether the phytosanitary certificate issued by the official authority of the exporting country contains the required pest quarantine statement,and whether the seal and signature are complete.We once encountered a case where the certificate provided by the client lacked the signature of an official quarantine officer.Before the goods arrived at the port,we promptly contacted the foreign consignor to reissue the certificate,avoiding the passive situation of being unable to declare after the goods arrived at the port.
• Production Enterprise Information Verification: Some food categories require overseas production enterprises to be registered in China.We will verify in advance whether the manufacturer is on the registration list of the General Administration of Customs,so as to ensure import qualification.

Stage 2: Port Declaration and Customs Inspection

After the goods arrive at Shanghai Port or the airport,they enter the formal declaration stage.The key at this stage lies in the accuracy of declaration information and the contingency plan for inspection.

First of all,accurate commodity classification (HS code) is directly related to tariff rates and regulatory conditions.For example,dried pineapple with added honey may be classified differently from pure dried pineapple,and the corresponding value-added tax and tariff are also different.Zhongshen’s customs declaration team will determine the most accurate code based on the actual process and ingredients of the product,combined with the Customs Tariff and previous classification rulings.

Secondly,customs may inspect the goods according to risk control instructions.The focus of food inspection usually includes:

• Whether the actual goods are consistent with the declaration information (product name,specification,place of origin).
• Whether the Chinese label is affixed as required,and whether the content is consistent with the filed version.
• Whether the packaging is intact,and whether there are sensory abnormalities such as mildew and pest infestation.

Our on-site customs brokers will accompany customs officers for inspection,make preparations in advance for possible problems (such as label pasting position),and can effectively communicate with customs officers on professional issues to complete the inspection process efficiently.

Stage 3: Quarantine Inspection and Qualified Delivery

After customs clearance,food cannot be sold directly.After customs release,the goods must be transferred to a customs supervised warehouse,waiting for sampling inspection by the market regulation authority (or designated inspection agency).Inspection items usually include safety and health indicators such as microorganisms,additives and heavy metals.Only after obtaining the Inspection and Quarantine Certificate for Entry Goods can the goods be deemed to have completed all import procedures and be legally circulated in the domestic market.

Zhongshen will track the progress of sampling and testing throughout the process,coordinate warehouse management,and ensure that the storage conditions of the goods in the supervised warehouse meet the requirements (for example,temperature and humidity control is essential for some snacks).Once the test report is issued,we will collect the certificate for the client as soon as possible to complete the entire import closed loop.

Comparison of Differences Between Self-Handling and Entrusting Professional Agency

To more clearly demonstrate the value of professional agency services,we compare the differences between enterprises’ self-handling and entrusting Zhongshen as the agent in key links in the table below.

Practical Experience: Fast Customs Clearance of a Shipment of Dried Pineapple Imported from Vietnam

Last year,a start-up e-commerce company entrusted us to import a batch of dried pineapple from Vietnam.The client thought the product was "very simple",and the foreign supplier claimed that "we often export to China and have complete documents".However,when our supervisor Zhou pre-reviewed the documents,he found that the format of the phytosanitary certificate provided by the foreign party was not the latest version recognized by Chinese customs,and the marking method of sulfur dioxide content in the product ingredients did not meet Chinese standards.

We immediately launched the response plan: on the one hand,we contacted our Vietnamese partners to guide the exporter to apply to the local official authority for reissuing the certificate in the correct format; on the other hand,we informed the client of the additive marking problem on the label,calculated the compliant marking value according to Chinese standards,re-produced the electronic version of the Chinese label for the client,and urgently sent it to the Vietnamese factory for affixing on the production line.At the same time,we explained the situation to customs in advance and prepared relevant standard documents as supplementary declaration materials.

In the end,after the goods arrived at Shanghai Port,the declaration and inspection process went smoothly.Although the goods were selected for inspection due to label issues,we were well prepared and provided complete compliance explanations and rectification basis on site.Customs recognized the compliance of the goods after inspection,which did not affect the overall release time.The client avoided tens of thousands of yuan in additional costs that might have been incurred due to cargo detention at the port,and the goods were put on sale as scheduled.

Value of Professional Agency: Balance Between Efficiency and Risk Control

The "simplicity" of food import customs declaration lies in the standardization of the process,while the "complexity" lies in the devil in the details.Differences in regulations of each country,special requirements for each product ingredient,and issuance details of each certificate may become variables on the way to customs clearance.Zhongshen has more than 20 years of operation practice,and has accumulated not only familiarity with processes,but also the ability to predict various "abnormal situations" and a library of solutions.We convert this experience into standardized service nodes and control actions,helping import enterprises convert uncontrollable compliance risks into predictable customs clearance time and cost.In 2026,when the competition in the imported food market is increasingly fierce,efficient supply chain and reliable compliance guarantee are important competitiveness of enterprises themselves.