China Launched a Pilot Program for Classified Management of 30 Imported Substances with Both Food and Medicinal Uses

To continuously optimize the port business environment and support the development of import trade in substances with both food and medicinal uses, the General Administration of Customs (GAC), the National Health Commission (NHC), the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), and the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) have decided to pilot the implementation of classified import management for certain food–medicinal substances.

The relevant matters are hereby announced as follows:

I. A list-based management approach will be implemented on a pilot basis for imported food–medicinal substances, with dynamic updates. Details can be found in the List of Food–Medicinal Substances Subject to Pilot Classified Import Supervision.

II. For imported food–medicinal substances under the pilot program, enterprises shall strictly operate in accordance with laws and regulations and in good faith. When handling import customs clearance procedures, enterprises shall clearly declare the intended use of the products and bear legal responsibility for truthful declarations. For products included in the List, an Import Drug Customs Clearance Form must be submitted if the declared use is medicinal; if the declared use is for other purposes, submission of the Import Drug Customs Clearance Form is not required.

III. Within their respective scopes of responsibility, the GAC, SAMR, and NMPA shall, in accordance with the law, strengthen supervision over the import, operation, and processing of imported food–medicinal substances as foods or drugs, and urge enterprises to operate in compliance with laws and regulations. Except for the use of food–medicinal substances imported for medicinal purposes as raw materials for health foods, importing enterprises shall not change the intended use of the products. Enterprises or individuals that sell or use products for purposes other than those declared shall be prohibited.

IV. The GAC, NHC, SAMR, and NMPA shall establish an interdepartmental mechanism for sharing information on national food safety standards and regulatory supervision. Where suspected violations of laws or crimes are discovered, legal responsibility shall be pursued in accordance with the law.

SN	Name	Description
1	Clove	The dried flower buds of Eugenia caryophyllata Thunb., a plant of the family Myrtaceae.
2	Star Anise	The dried mature fruits of Illicium verum Hook.f., a plant of the family Magnoliaceae.
3	Licorice	The fresh or dried roots and rhizomes of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch., Glycyrrhiza inflata Bat., or Glycyrrhiza glabra L., plants of the family Fabaceae.
4	Nutmeg	The dried seed kernels of Myristica fragrans Houtt., a plant of the family Myristicaceae.
5	Turmeric	The dried rhizomes of Curcuma longa L., a plant of the family Zingiberaceae.
6	Amomum	The dried mature fruits of Amomum villosum Lour., Amomum villosum Lour. var. xanthioides T.L. Wu et Senjen, or Amomum longiligulare T.L. Wu, plants of the family Zingiberaceae.
7	Fennel Fruit	The dried mature fruits of Foeniculum vulgare Mill., a plant of the family Apiaceae.
8	Goji Berry	The fresh or dried mature fruits of Lycium barbarum L., a plant of the family Solanaceae.
9	Angelica Sinensis	The fresh or dried roots of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, a plant of the family Apiaceae.
10	Saffron	The dried stigmas of Crocus sativus L., a plant of the family Iridaceae.
11	Long Pepper	The dried nearly mature or mature infructescences of Piper longum L., a plant of the family Piperaceae.
12	Codonopsis	The dried roots of Codonopsis pilosula (Franch.) Nannf., Codonopsis pilosula Nannf. var. modesta (Nannf.) L.T. Shen, or Codonopsis tangshen Oliv., plants of the family Campanulaceae.
13	Gastrodia Tuber	The dried tubers of Gastrodia elata Bl., a plant of the family Orchidaceae.
14	Tsaoko Amomum	The dried mature fruits of Amomum tsao-ko Crevost et Lemaire, a plant of the family Zingiberaceae.
15	Ganoderma	The dried fruiting bodies of Ganoderma lucidum (Leyss. ex Fr.) Karst. or Ganoderma sinense Zhao, Xu et Zhang, fungi of the family Polyporaceae.
16	Yellow Mustard Seed	The dried mature seeds of Sinapis alba L. or Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. et Coss., plants of the family Brassicaceae.
17	Chinese Olive	The dried mature fruits of Canarium album Raeusch., a plant of the family Burseraceae.
18	Cornus Fruit	The dried mature fruit flesh of Cornus officinalis Sieb. et Zucc., a plant of the family Cornaceae.
19	Dendrobium Officinale	The dried stems of Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo, a plant of the family Orchidaceae.
20	Chrysanthemum Flower	The dried capitula of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat., a plant of the family Asteraceae.
21	Cassia Bark	The dried bark of Cinnamomum cassia Presl, a plant of the family Lauraceae.
22	Bitter Apricot Kernel	The dried mature seeds of Prunus armeniaca L. var. ansu Maxim., Prunus sibirica L., Prunus mandshurica (Maxim.) Koehne, or Prunus armeniaca L., plants of the family Rosaceae.
23	Desert Cistanche	The dried fleshy stems with scale leaves of Cistanche deserticola Y.C. Ma, a plant of the family Orobanchaceae.
24	American Ginseng	The dried roots of Panax quinquefolius L., a plant of the family Araliaceae.
25	Astragalus Root	The dried roots of Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao or Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge., plants of the family Fabaceae.
26	Eucommia Leaf	The dried leaves of Eucommia ulmoides Oliv., a plant of the family Eucommiaceae.
27	Rehmannia Root	The fresh or dried tuberous roots of Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch., a plant of the family Scrophulariaceae.
28	Ophiopogon Root	The dried tuberous roots of Ophiopogon japonicus (L.f.) Ker-Gawl., a plant of the family Liliaceae.
29	Asparagus Root	The dried tuberous roots of Asparagus cochinchinensis (Lour.) Merr., a plant of the family Liliaceae.
30	Exocarpium Citri Grandis	The dried outer peel of the immature or nearly mature fruits of Citrus grandis ‘Tomentosa’ or Citrus grandis (L.) Osbeck, plants of the family Rutaceae.

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