Large shipments of organic food stuck at customs, caused by the Ministry of Health and Welfare's last-minute rule change

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has recently been actively investigating food safety, but some operators say that on the 13th of this month the Food and Drug Administration issued an internal order requiring importers of organic food to first obtain an organic permit number from the Agriculture and Food Agency before customs clearance. In the past, however, imported organic products could only apply for a permit after entry. The Ministry of Health and Welfare's sudden change to the procedure has left operators at a loss, with containers all stuck at customs and hundreds of yuan in storage fees still to be paid every day. "This is simply institutionalized killing." The Ministry of Health and Welfare had not responded as of press time.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare changed the rules last week, and neither the Council of Agriculture nor operators knew

Last month the Ministry of Health and Welfare pledged to investigate 13 categories of everyday foods before the end of next year, with organic products listed as a priority item and completion expected within half a year. But last week many organic food importers discovered one after another that their goods were all stuck at customs.

According to the Council of Agriculture's "Regulations Governing the Import of Organic Agricultural Products and Organic Agricultural Processed Products," before organic products can go on the market they must be accompanied by company registration, an organic certificate for the imported product, and a photocopy of the import certification copy of the import declaration. After review by the Council of Agriculture, an import permit is issued that clearly records the product name, import batch number and quantity. Operators use this document to list "Organic Agricultural and Food Import Permit No. xxx" on the packaging, and only then does it count as a qualified organic product. But the Ministry of Health and Welfare's new order requires operators to obtain a document from the Agriculture and Food Agency before release. Operators complain: "How can we obtain the certificate before it has even cleared customs?"

A customs broker who asked not to be named pointed out that on the 13th of this month the Food and Drug Administration issued an internal order including organic food in the border inspection category, on the grounds that the certification documents submitted by importing companies alone cannot verify whether organic claims are genuine. It notified all health bureaus and customs that imported organic food must first obtain an approval document from the Agriculture and Food Agency, but the Food and Drug Administration did not notify operators or ask customs brokers for their views. After noticing something was wrong, the broker took the initiative to ask the Food and Drug Administration, and the response was actually: "This is our internal operating order and cannot be made public." Operators did not know what to do.

Operators stuck at customs still have to bear storage fees themselves, "institutionalized killing"

Some importers have already been stuck for a week and are as anxious as ants on a hot pan. Moreover, when customs detains goods, operators must bear the storage fees themselves. The customs broker said that the fee for one container ranges from 2 or 3 hundred to over a thousand yuan, depending on the quantity of goods.

One organic importer tried to negotiate whether it could use previous import document records as proof to at least secure release first, but was rejected by customs. Now the products have been stuck for three or four days, there is no product on the shelves, and the company still has to bear the additional storage fees for the detained goods, which is truly exasperating.

It is understood that both customs and the Agriculture and Food Agency are troubled by the Ministry of Health and Welfare's approach, and they even taught operators a stopgap: as long as they write "non-compliant," do not label it organic after it is returned, and then it can be imported normally; after import, the Agriculture and Food Agency can still issue an organic certificate. But operators say helplessly that as long as there is a non-compliant record, future imports will be subject to stricter or batch-by-batch inspection, "and if someday the Agriculture and Food Agency comes back to bite me because I did not label it organic at import, what then?"

Customs brokers revealed that because operators repeatedly failed to produce certificates, some products had already been marked non-compliant and returned. "This is simply institutionalized killing." They sharply criticized that the competent authority for organic food is the Agriculture and Food Agency and border inspection is the Ministry of Health and Welfare, but the Ministry of Health and Welfare simply does not understand the organic import process. Previously it would ask operators for their views, but the past half year has been chaotic. Operators are not unwilling to cooperate with policy, but the government must clearly inform them of the content and set a buffer period. How can it prohibit current practices before the procedure has even been properly established?

Organic goods must first obtain approval, implementation date undetermined

Weng Zhenxin, head of the Organic Materials Section of the Agriculture and Food Agency, said he also only learned of the problem last week after hearing operators complain, but he had already coordinated with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and would draft a new procedure allowing operators to apply to the Agriculture and Food Agency for approval before customs clearance using the customs declaration and other related documents. In the future, imported organic food will all require approval from the Agriculture and Food Agency before customs clearance, but the exact implementation date is still uncertain.

Regarding operators' accusations against the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Weng Zhenxin smoothed things over by saying that in the past, after organic imports, it was impossible to determine whether operators had honestly applied for permits. For example, an operator might import five batches of goods but report only three, with the whereabouts of the rest unknown, making it hard for agricultural authorities to grasp the total quantity. In addition, agricultural authorities detect pesticides in imported organic products every year. In the future, requiring approval from the Agriculture and Food Agency before customs clearance can accurately identify the "blacklist" and block bad food at the source. "In the past everyone paid relatively little attention to organic food imports. I am very glad the Ministry of Health and Welfare has noticed. Source control is better than letting it flow onto the market and then conducting spot checks."

The reporter called Jiang Yumei, deputy director-general of the Food and Drug Administration, but Jiang Yumei said this was the business of Feng Runlan, director of the district management center. The reporter called several times in succession, but Feng Runlan had not responded as of press time.