Full Process and Compliance Key Points Analysis of Imported Food Label Review in 2026

Challenges and Background of Imported Food Label Compliance

As we enter 2026,domestic consumer demand for imported food continues to grow,especially snack foods,dairy products and alcoholic beverages from Southeast Asia,Europe and Oceania.However,as trade volume increases,the General Administration of Customs has strengthened its review of Chinese labels for imported food to an unprecedented level.According to the latest national food safety standards,all imported prepackaged foods must be labeled with Chinese labels that comply with Chinese laws and regulations.Many enterprises new to import business often fail to fully understand China’s GB 7718 "National Food Safety Standard: General Rules for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods" and GB 28050 "National Food Safety Standard: General Rules for the Nutrition Labeling of Prepackaged Foods",resulting in their goods being detained by customs or ordered to rectify upon arrival at the port due to label issues.This will not only generate high detention and warehousing fees,but in severe cases,the goods may even face the risk of being returned or destroyed,causing huge economic losses to enterprises.

In this context,professional import agency services are particularly important.As a foreign trade agency with over 20 years of experience in the industry,Zhongshen has accumulated rich practical experience in the field of imported food label agency services.We are well aware that a qualified Chinese label is not just a translation issue,but also involves the order of ingredient lists,accurate calculation of nutritional labels,allergen prompts and compliance review of the Advertising Law.Our core role is to intervene before the goods are shipped,use professional pre-review services to nip risks in the bud,and clear obstacles for the subsequent customs clearance process.

Document Pre-review and Label Design Stage

The first and most critical step of imported food label agency services is document pre-review and label design.The work in this stage directly determines whether the goods can be declared smoothly.Zhongshen’s operation team will require customers to provide ingredient certificates issued by the origin,original label samples and product test reports.We will conduct strict comparison and review of these materials.

Core Compliance Review Points

In this stage,we focus on reviewing the following contents: First,whether the descending order of the ingredient list complies with the production standards of the country of origin,and whether the translation is accurate and standardized,and conforms to Chinese common names.Second,the nutritional label is a key area of concern.The 2026 regulatory standards have extremely high requirements for numerical rounding and NRV% calculation of core nutrients including energy,protein,fat,carbohydrates and sodium.Many foreign factories directly use their domestic standards for their nutritional labels,and their calculation logic differs from Chinese standards.If used directly,they are easily judged as unqualified.Zhongshen’s professionals will recalculate each value according to Chinese standards to ensure that the labeled values are within the allowable error range of the test report.

• Review whether the original label contains unapproved new food raw materials or additives.
• Check whether the allergen information is complete and whether Chinese prompts are used.
• Verify whether the product name reflects its true attributes and does not mislead consumers.
• Confirm whether the labeling format of production date and shelf life complies with the Chinese habit of "year/month/day".
• Check whether the label content violates the provisions on extreme words in the Advertising Law.

Through the above pre-review,we will issue detailed modification opinions to assist customers in communicating with foreign factories,and finally finalize the Chinese label design draft that complies with regulations.Only after confirming that the label is correct will we advise customers to arrange shipment,thereby avoiding rectification risks after the goods arrive at the port from the source.

Detailed Explanation of Port Customs Declaration and Commodity Inspection Process

When the goods arrive at Shanghai or other entry ports,the process enters the customs declaration and commodity inspection stage.At this point,Zhongshen’s agency services will shift from document review to on-site operations.For imported foods,the complexity of the commodity inspection (now called "customs inspection and quarantine") stage is much higher than that of ordinary goods.

Declaration and Sampling Inspection

When declaring customs,we need to accurately fill in the pre-reviewed Chinese label information in the Single Window system.After accepting the declaration,the customs will inspect the goods according to the instructions.For food,the customs usually check whether the label information on the physical goods is consistent with the declaration elements.This includes checking details such as the printing quality of the label,font size,and whether it is firmly pasted.Zhongshen’s customs declarers will fully cooperate with the customs inspection work to ensure smooth on-site communication.

If the customs orders sampling inspection,the goods will enter the designated laboratory for testing,and the test items usually include indicators such as microorganisms,heavy metals and food additives.This process may take several weeks.During this period,Zhongshen will use its own warehouse management resources to assist customers in arranging temporary storage of goods in the bonded warehouse to avoid additional detention fees.At the same time,we will continue to follow up the certificate issuance progress of the laboratory.Once the test is qualified,we will immediately coordinate with the customs to issue the Certificate of Inspection and Quarantine for Entry Goods,which is the "ID card" for food to be legally sold in the domestic market.

Common Label Risk Points and Agency Response Strategies

In actual operations,we have summarized some frequently occurring label risk points.To more intuitively show how Zhongshen assists enterprises in dealing with these challenges,the following table sorts out common problems and their solutions:

Actual Case Sharing: An Emergency Label Rectification

In early 2026,Director Xu from Shanghai entrusted us to act as an agent for importing a batch of red wine from Southern Europe.Before the goods were shipped,Director Xu provided the label samples sent by the foreign winery.Zhongshen’s reviewers found during the pre-review that although the original label indicated the grape variety and vintage,it did not indicate the content of the additive "sulfur dioxide" in accordance with Chinese standards.Although sulfur dioxide is common in wine production,according to the current national standards,it must be clearly indicated in the ingredient list or ingredient table.

Since the goods had already been loaded and departed at that time,it was impossible to reprint and apply labels abroad.Zhongshen immediately launched an emergency plan.We advised Director Xu to apply for rectification in the bonded area.After the goods arrived at the port,we quickly arranged customs clearance and picked up the goods to enter our bonded supervision warehouse.Under the supervision of the customs,we assisted Director Xu in contacting a professional domestic labeling team to cover the existing labels of each bottle with supplementary labels printed with the sulfur dioxide content and compliant Chinese information.After the rectification was completed,we applied to the customs for re-inspection,and finally the goods passed customs smoothly.This case fully demonstrates the flexibility and resource allocation capabilities of the agency when dealing with sudden compliance issues.If the enterprise operated by itself,it would be difficult to coordinate the customs supervision warehouse and rectification process in a short time,and it is very likely that the goods would expire or be returned.

Empowering Value of Professional Agency for Import Business

Imported food label agency is not just about filling out forms and applying labels.It is a systematic project integrating laws and regulations,food engineering and international trade practices.Through the above process breakdown and cases,it can be seen that Zhongshen plays the role of "compliance gatekeeper" in the imported food business.

For importers,the greatest value of choosing a professional full-process agency service is to improve import efficiency and reduce compliance risks.Through pre-professional review,we solve most problems before the goods are shipped,avoiding the passive situation after the goods arrive at the port.At the same time,our perfect warehousing,logistics and foreign exchange settlement services can seamlessly connect the customs clearance process after label review,providing customers with a seamless chain from foreign factories to domestic sales terminals.In the 2026 market environment with increasingly strict supervision,relying on a professional team with rich experience like Zhongshen is the best solution to ensure the steady development of imported food business.