Fujian CIQ Increased Frequency and Stringency of Regulatory Inspection Indicative of Broader Government Policy

Takehome

• The increased frequency and stringency of inspection over imported cosmetics at Fujian port by local CIQ is indicative of a broader government policy to ensure the standards of imported cosmetics.
• Provincial CIQs represent the first major barrier for importers prior to distribution and retail and provides Chinese authorities with its most effective means to ensure the integrity of imported commodities. Compliance has become even more important given this recent trend.

Fujian Inspection & Quarantine Bureau ramped up regulatory efforts in the first half of 2015 with 4400 batches of imported cosmetics and food being examined, an increase of 18.73 % compared to the same period last year. The number of unqualified batches was 800, a rise of 8.39 % compared with last year.

Imported cosmetics and food from Taiwan and EU dominate the list of substandard items, accounting for 78.01 % of the total.

The latest figure also shows that over 90% of the products failed inspection due to unqualified labels and marking on the packages while just 3.75% were rejected due to absence of relevant permits, official certificates or cargo certificates.

Cosmetic and foods are two of the most important products imported through Fujian port in terms of financial significance and sheer volume. As such these commodities have been subject to increased inspection in recent years. In addition increased reporting of cosmetic safety issues and adverse effects has also prompted the local Bureau to tackle these problems. In response to these issues a variety of built for purpose regulatory institutions have been newly established to track problems along the whole supply chain.

There are other speculations amid intensifying inspection on how much further the work can be done in a coordinated fashion in the future, with more efficient communication being formed between different departments holding responsibilities to regulate same products. In this regard, imported goods certainly come first of any pilot test.