Announcement on Inspection and Quarantine Requirements for Imported Iranian Aquatic Products

        According to the relevant laws and regulations of China and the provisions of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the inspection and quarantine and veterinary hygiene requirements of Iran’s aquaculture aquatic products imported to China, from now on, Iran’s aquaculture aquatic products that meet the following relevant requirements are allowed to import:

        I. Inspection and quarantine basis

        （1）The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine, the Regulations for the Implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Import and Export Commodity Inspection, the Regulations for the Implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Import and Export Commodity Inspection, the Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China, and the Regulations for the Implementation of the Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China;

        （2）Measures of the People’s Republic of China on the Administration of Import and Export Food Safety and Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Administration of Registration of Overseas Production Enterprises of Imported Food;

        （3）Protocol between the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the Inspection and Quarantine and Veterinary Health Requirements of Aquatic Products Imported from the Islamic Republic of Iran to China (hereinafter referred to as the Protocol).

        II. Scope of imported products

        Cultured aquatic products refer to the aquatic animal products and their products, algae and other marine plant products and their products that are artificially cultured and used for human consumption, excluding the species, living aquatic animals and aquatic animal and plant breeding materials listed in the appendix of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the National Key Protected Wildlife List of China. See the appendix for the list of aquaculture products.

        III. Requirements of manufacturer

        Producers (including processing enterprises and independent cold storage) and farms exporting aquaculture products to China should be approved by the Iranian authorities and subject to their effective supervision. The sanitary conditions of the production enterprise shall meet the requirements of the relevant veterinary hygiene and public health regulations of China and Iran.

        According to the Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China, the manufacturing enterprises exporting aquaculture products to China should be recommended for registration by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Islamic Republic of Iran (hereinafter referred to as the Iranian side) to the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Chinese side). No export to China is allowed without registration. The types of products that the manufacturer applies for registration in China should be within the “II. Scope of imported products”.

        IV. Requirements for imported products

        Iraq should ensure that the aquaculture products imported to China meet the following conditions:

        （1）It is cultivated in Iran’s domestic waters.

        （2）Raw materials and products are not involved in the following problems:

        1. Aquatic animal epidemics listed in the List of Entry Animal Quarantine Epidemics of the People’s Republic of China and required to be notified by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) and related to the products of the Protocol have occurred in Iran, making the aquatic products exported to China infected or possibly infected;

        2. Any major food safety incident in Iran has affected or may affect the aquatic products exported to China;

        3. Iran has imported or intends to import aquaculture products to China in serious violation of Chinese and Iranian laws and regulations as well as the provisions of the Protocol;

        4. Major public health events occur in the production enterprises, such as major infectious diseases among employees, which have polluted or may pollute the aquatic products and their packaging and transportation tools exported to China.

        （3）Do not directly or indirectly (such as adding in feed) use drugs or additives banned by both parties, and use drugs or additives restricted or allowed by both parties according to regulations; According to the inspection of the competent authority, no pathogenic microorganism, toxic and harmful substances and foreign matters listed in the laws and regulations of China and Iran were found.

        （4）All aquaculture aquatic products imported to China have been quarantined and inspected by the competent authorities, and are sanitary, safe, and suitable for human consumption. No pathological indications of infectious and parasitic diseases have been found, and no aquatic animal diseases listed in the List of Imported Animal Quarantine Diseases of the People’s Republic of China and required to be notified by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) have been found.

        （5）The whole process from breeding, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, transit and export shall meet the relevant sanitary and traceability requirements of both parties. At the same time, it meets the relevant safety and health requirements of the cold chain.

        V. Quarantine approval requirements

        The import of Iran’s aquaculture aquatic products shall be subject to quarantine approval in advance and obtain the Entry Animal and Plant Quarantine License.

        VI. Certificate requirements

        Each container of aquaculture aquatic products exported from Iran to China shall be accompanied by at least one original veterinary (hygiene) certificate, which proves that the batch of products comply with the relevant provisions of the Chinese and Iranian veterinary and public health laws and regulations and the Protocol. Iran shall fill in the veterinary (health) certificate with the information of the production enterprises involved in the whole process of breeding, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, transit and export, including the names and registration numbers of the breeding farms, processing plants and independent cold storage, and shall not omit the information of the production enterprises involved in any of the above links.

        The certificate shall be printed at least in Chinese and English (English is the required language when filling in the certificate). The format and content of the certificate must be approved by both parties in advance. The Iraqi side shall provide the sample certificate, the seal of the official issuing authority and the handwriting of the signing official to the Chinese side for filing in a timely manner. In case of any change, the Iraqi side shall file with the Chinese side at least one month before it takes effect.

        VII. Packaging and marking requirements

        Aquatic products exported to China should have outer packaging and separate inner packaging. The inner and outer packaging shall be brand new materials that meet the international health standards and meet the requirements of preventing pollution from external factors.

        The inner and outer packaging shall be affixed with labels in Chinese and English or Chinese and Polish, including: trade name and scientific name, specification, production date, shelf life, batch number, storage conditions, production method (breeding), country of origin, name and registration number of production enterprise, production area and address of production enterprise (specific to state/province/city), and destination (marked as the People’s Republic of China).

        For aquatic products exported to China in the form of pre-packaging, the pre-packaged Chinese label shall meet the requirements for the label of pre-packaged food imported from China.

        VIII. Storage and transportation requirements

        The whole process of storage and transportation of aquaculture products imported from Iran to China should meet the relevant sanitary and traceability requirements, and the normal operation of cold chain control should be ensured.

        IX. Other requirements

        China Customs implements import inspection and quarantine of aquaculture products exported to China.

        Nonconforming products will be returned, destroyed or otherwise disposed of in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations. The Chinese side can take measures such as strengthening inspection and quarantine or suspending the import of production enterprises that have serious problems or have repeatedly failed to meet the requirements.

Article source：General Administration of Customs