Detailed Explanation of Full-process Compliance Operation of Imported Small Food Wholesale Agency

I.Market Background and Common Difficulties of Imported Small Food Wholesale in 2026

In 2026,the market size of imported small food in Shanghai increased by 18% year-on-year,and categories such as Southeast Asian jelly,Japanese and South Korean cookies,and European chocolate account for more than 60% of the total.Many wholesale enterprises want to enter the market but are stuck at the "compliance threshold" -- last year,Mr.Ding,who engaged in imported jelly wholesale,failed to check the additive list in advance,and his goods were detained at Yangshan Port for 15 days,with a loss of more than 20,000 yuan.Common difficulties are concentrated in three aspects:

• Food standards vary greatly among different countries/regions (for example,pigments banned by the EU are still allowed in some Southeast Asian countries);
• Small food has a short shelf life (most cookies and jelly have a shelf life of 6-12 months),and customs clearance delay easily leads to approaching expiry date;
• Wholesale enterprises import multiple categories,so document sorting is cumbersome and it is easy to miss the special requirements of a certain category of products.

II.Core Value of Import Agency of Zhongshen

In response to the above pain points,Manager Liu from Zhongshen introduced that the agency service focuses on "advance compliance and efficient customs clearance",helping enterprises solve three core problems: cross-regional standard matching,customs clearance acceleration for shelf-life sensitive products,and centralized pre-audit of documents for multiple categories.

III.Process Decomposition of Imported Small Food Wholesale Agency (Including Specific Requirements)

1.Document Pre-audit Stage: Avoid Compliance Risks in Advance

Specific compliance requirements for small food:

• Official health certificate of the country of origin shall be provided (some countries require pre-audit of affixed Chinese labels);
• Allergen labeling must be clear (such as nuts and dairy products),and EU products must comply with REACH regulations;
• The additive list must be compared with China’s GB2760 standard,and shall not contain any prohibited substances.

Support provided by Zhongshen:

• Complete comparison of GB2760 and other standards within 3 working days after receiving customer materials;
• Connect with commodity inspection department to pre-audit Chinese labels,avoid labeling delay at the port;
• Last year,Mr.Huang imported 10 tons of Japanese and South Korean cookies,Zhongshen found in advance that the lactose labeling of one cookie was vague,and promptly asked the supplier to provide supplementary explanation,avoiding port return.

2.Port Customs Declaration Stage: Efficient Customs Clearance to Ensure Timeliness

Specific tariff requirements for small food are shown in the table below:

Support provided by Zhongshen:

• Sort out preferential documents such as RCEP certificate of origin in advance,help customers save tariff costs;
• Connect with Yangshan Port customs declaration system,adopt "advance declaration" mode,shorten customs clearance time to within 24 hours;
• Last year,Mr.Lian imported Thai jelly,Zhongshen handled RCEP certificate of origin in advance,reduced tariff from 7.5% to 6.2%,saving more than 12,000 yuan in costs.

3.Commodity Inspection Stage: Strict Quarantine to Ensure Safety

Specific quarantine requirements for small food:

• Sampling inspection for microorganisms is required (such as total bacterial count,Escherichia coli);
• For Southeast Asian jelly,inspection for illegal additives (such as phthalate) is required;
• After import,products must be stored in warehouses meeting food hygiene standards,with temperature controlled below 25℃ (chocolate needs to be below 18℃).

Support provided by Zhongshen:

• Contact commodity inspection sampling personnel in advance,arrange sampling within 12 hours after port unloading;
• Provide constant temperature warehouse service in Shanghai Free Trade Zone,ensure the shelf life of small food;
• Last year,when Supervisor Zhong imported German chocolate,Zhongshen’s constant temperature warehouse prevented the goods from melting,and delivered smoothly to downstream wholesalers.

IV.Case Sharing: How Agency Service Helps Enterprises Avoid Risks

In October 2025,Mr.Ding from a Shanghai wholesale enterprise planned to import 20 tons of Malaysian jelly.He failed to check the additive list in advance,so the content of potassium sorbate in the submitted documents exceeded China’s GB 2760 standard (allowable ≤0.5g/kg,actual 0.6g/kg).After Mr.Ding contacted Zhongshen,Manager Liu’s team:

• Immediately contacted the Malaysian supplier,requested the adjusted additive test report;
• Coordinated with the commodity inspection department simultaneously,explained the product adjustment,avoided cargo return;
• Finally,customs clearance was only delayed for 3 days,Mr.Ding had no additional loss,and completed the subsequent wholesale smoothly.

V.Summary: Core Value of Professional Agency

The core of imported small food wholesale in 2026 is "compliance + timeliness".The agency service of Zhongshen:

• Helps enterprises avoid more than 90% of compliance risks (such as excessive additives,non-compliant labels);
• Customs clearance time is 30%-50% shorter than that handled by enterprises on their own;
• Targeting the shelf life characteristics of small food,it provides integrated "warehousing + distribution" service to meet the fast turnover demand of wholesale enterprises.

For enterprises that want to enter the imported small food wholesale industry,choosing a professional agency can not only save time and cost,but also avoid huge losses caused by compliance issues.