Measures for the Administration of Food Trade Licensing and Recordation

Measures for the Administration of Food Trade Licensing and Recordation

(Issued by Order No. 78 of the State Administration for Market Regulation on June 15, 2023, and shall come into force on December 1, 2023)

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 These Measures are developed in accordance with the Administrative Licensing Law of the People's Republic of China, the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, the Regulation on the Implementation of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, and other applicable laws and regulations for the purposes of regulating food trade licensing and recordation activities, strengthening the supervision and administration of food trade safety, fulfilling primary responsibilities for food safety, and ensuring food safety.

Article 2 These Measures shall apply to the application for a food trade permit, the acceptance, examination, and decision-making of such application, and the recordation of the sale of prepackaged food only (including health food, formula food for special medical purposes, infant formula milk powder, other infant formula food, and other special food, here and below), and the related supervision and inspection work.

Article 3 Food trade licensing and recordation shall follow the principles of legality, openness, fairness, justice, convenience for the people, and efficiency.

Article 4 Whoever plans to engage in food sales and provide catering services within the territory of the People's Republic of China shall obtain a food trade permit in accordance with the law.

Under any of the following circumstances, a food trade permit is not required:

(1) Sale of edible agricultural products.

(2) Sale of prepackaged food only.

(3) Sale of specific full-nutritional formula food in formula food for special medical purposes by a medical institution or drug retailer.

(4) Sale of food produced by a food producer that has obtained a food production permit at its production and processing place or through the Internet.

(5) Any other circumstance where a food trade permit is not required in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.

A food trade permit shall be obtained in accordance with the law so as to carry out any other food business item, except for the aforesaid circumstances.

Article 5 Whoever sells prepackaged food only shall report to the local market regulatory department of the county or equivalent where it is located for recordation.

If a food trader that only sells prepackaged food plans to add any other food business item for which a food trade permit is required after undergoing recordation formalities for the sale of prepackaged food only, it shall obtain a food trade permit in accordance with the law; the recordation shall be automatically invalid from the date when the food trade permit is obtained.

If a food trader that has obtained a food trade permit increases the sale of prepackaged food, it is not required to undergo recordation separately.

If a food producer that has obtained a food production permit sells prepackaged food it produces at its production and processing place or through the Internet, it is not required to undergo recordation separately.

A medical institution or drug retailer that sells specific full-nutritional formula food in formula food for special medical purposes is not required to undergo recordation. However, a trade enterprise that sells special full-nutritional formula food to a medical institution or drug retailer shall obtain a food trade permit or undergo recordation.

Article 6 The organizer of a food exhibition shall, within 15 working days before the exhibition, report to the market regulatory department of the county or equivalent where it is located the layout of its food distribution area, business items, duration of business, food safety management rules, verification of the entity information of food traders participating in the exhibition, and other information. If it is otherwise prescribed in any law, regulation, rule, or by the local people's government at or above the county level, such provisions shall prevail.

The organizer of a food exhibition shall assume food safety management responsibilities in accordance with the law, verify and retain the information such as permits or recordation information of food traders participating in the exhibition, specify the food safety obligations and responsibilities of food traders participating in the exhibition and supervise their implementation, and regularly inspect their business environment and conditions. If it discovers any violation of the law on food safety, it shall stop the violation in a timely manner and immediately file a report with the market regulatory department of the county or equivalent where it is located.

The exhibitions as mentioned in this article shall include but not be limited to trade fairs, expositions, and temple fairs.

Article 7 A food trader that engages in food trade activities in different business premises shall obtain food trade permits or undergo recordation respectively in accordance with the law. Whoever engages in food trade activities through automatic equipment or only engages in food trade management activities may, after obtaining a food trade permit or undergoing recordation for a business premise, carry out business activities within the scope of the permit obtained or filed at any other business premise within the provincial administrative region.

A food trader that uses automatic equipment to conduct cross-provincial operations shall report to the provincial market regulatory department at the place where the trader is located and where the automatic equipment is placed respectively.

A food trader that engages in cross-provincial food trade management activities shall report to the provincial market regulatory department at the place where it is located and where it engages in trade management activities respectively.

Article 8 The State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”) shall be responsible for guiding food trade licensing and recordation administration nationwide.

The local market regulatory department at or above the county level shall be responsible for food trade licensing and recordation administration within its administrative region.

The market regulatory department of a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government may, according to food traders' business forms and business items, and food safety risks, among others, determine the administrative authority for food trade licensing and recordation administration of the market regulatory department within its administrative region.

Article 9 The local market regulatory department at or above the county level shall strengthen the development of information systems for food trade licensing and recordation and disclose to the public its authority for food trade licensing and recordation administration, service guides, and other matters on the websites of administrative authorities.

The local market regulatory department at or above the county level shall conduct the whole-process online processing of food trade licensing and recordation through the information platform for food trade licensing and recordation administration.

The electronic and paper food trading permits shall have the same legal force.

Chapter II Application and Acceptance

Article 10 Whoever applies for a food trade permit shall first obtain the business license and other qualifications as a legal entity.

For an enterprise legal person, a partnership enterprise, a sole proprietorship, or an individual industrial and commercial household, among others, the entity indicated on the business license shall be taken as the applicant.

If an organ, a public institution, a social organization, a private non-corporate entity, or an enterprise, among others, applies for establishing a canteen, the entity indicated on the legal person registration certificate of the organ or public institution, the registration certificate of the social organization, or business license, among others, shall be taken as the applicant.

Article 11 An application for a food trade permit shall be filed based on the main business form of the food trader and the category of the business item.

Based on business forms, food traders are categorized into food sellers, catering service providers, and canteens of entities with central dining. If a food trader engages in food wholesale and sales, central kitchen, or the delivery of group meals, engages in food sale by using automatic equipment, or the business of the canteen of a school, kindergarten, or nursery, such situation shall be marked in parentheses after the food trader's business form. The business form of the enterprise shall be determined based on the major business items and may not be selected repeatedly.

Food business items are divided into three categories, i.e. food sales, catering services, and food trade management. Food business items may be selected repeatedly.

Food sales include the sale of bulk food and the sale of bulk food and prepackaged food.

Catering services shall include but not be limited to the production and sale of hot food, cold food, raw food, semi-finished food, and homemade drinks. The production and sale of semi-finished products shall only be applied by central kitchens.

Food trade management shall include but not be limited to food sale chain management, catering service chain management, and catering service management.

If a food trader engages in the sale of bulk cooked food in bulk food sales, the production and sale of cold-processed pastries and cold meat in the production and sale of cold food, it shall be marked in parentheses after the business item.

Food with multiple states such as hot, cold, raw, solid, and liquid and can hardly be clearly categorized may be categorized as having the highest level of food safety risk.

The SAMR may adjust food business items according to the needs of supervision and administration.

Article 12 A food trade permit applicant shall satisfy food safety requirements that are compatible with its main business form and business items and meet the following conditions:

(1) It shall have places for preparing food materials, processing, selling, and storing food which are commensurate with the varieties and quantities of food traded by it, keep the environment of such places tidy and clean, and ensure that such places maintain a prescribed distance from toxic and hazardous sites and other pollution sources.

(2) It shall have trading equipment or facilities commensurate with the varieties and quantities of food traded by it, and have corresponding equipment or facilities for disinfection, changing clothes, washing, day-lighting, illumination, ventilation, anti-corrosion, dust prevention, fly prevention, rat prevention, insect prevention, washing, wastewater treatment, and storage of garbage and waste.

(3) It shall have full-time or part-time professional food safety directors, food safety officers, and food safety management personnel and rules and regulations for ensuring food safety.

(4) It shall have a reasonable equipment layout and technical flowchart to prevent cross-contamination between the food to be processed and ready-to-eat food and between raw materials and finished products and prevent food from contacting toxic substances or unclean substances.

(5) Other conditions prescribed by laws and regulations relating to food safety.

Whoever engages in food trade management shall have food safety management capabilities suitable for their business size, establish and improve food safety management rules, employ food safety management personnel according to relevant provisions, and be responsible for the food safety managed by it.

Article 13 A food trade permit applicant shall submit the following materials:

(1) A written application for the food trade permit.

(2) Photocopies of the business license or other supporting documents on the entity's qualification.

(3) Documents on the main equipment and facilities, business layout, and operating procedures, among others, suitable for food trading.

(4) The list of rules and regulations that ensure food safety such as those on food safety self-inspection, employee health management, incoming inspection records, and handling of food safety incidents.

An applicant that plans to engage in food trade by using automatic equipment shall submit the materials on the specific place for placing each equipment, the methods for publicizing the food trade permit, the food safety risk management and control plan, and other materials.

If the business license or other supporting documents on the entity's qualification can be verified online, the applicant is not required to provide the materials specified in subparagraph (2), paragraph 1 of this article. Food traders engaging in food trade management are not required to provide main equipment and facilities and business layout materials. The trader that only engages in the business items of food sale is not required to provide operating processes.

If the applicant authorizes an agent to apply for a food trade permit, the agent shall submit the power of attorney and the agent's identification documents.

Article 14 Where a food trader engages in simple production and sale with low food safety risks such as defrosting, simple heating, blending, combination, plate presentation, and washing and chopping of food, the local market regulatory department at or above the county level may, under the premise of ensuring food safety, appropriately simplify the examination of equipment, facilities, and special areas, among others.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not apply to food traders engaged in the high-risk production and sale of food such as raw food, cold-processed pastries, and cold meat.

Article 15 A school, kindergarten or nursery, elderly care service provider, construction site, or any other entity with centralized dining shall obtain a food trade permit in accordance with the law and fulfill its primary responsibilities for food safety.

An entity that engages in the contracted operation of a canteen of an entity with centralized dining shall obtain a food trade permit suitable for the content of the contract, have food safety management rules and capabilities that are compatible with the contracted canteen, appoint food safety management personnel according to relevant provisions, and be responsible for food safety in the canteen. An entity with centralized dining shall carry out food safety management responsibilities, appoint food safety management personnel according to relevant provisions, supervise and administer the food trade activities of contractors, and urge contractors to implement food safety management rules.

Article 16 A food trader that engages in online operations, establishes a warehouse (including self-owned and leased ones) outside its operation area, or provides meals to schools, kindergartens, or nurseries by its collective meal delivery entities shall report to the local market regulatory department of the county or equivalent where it is located within ten working days from the date of carrying out related business activities. The local market regulatory department at or above the county level shall record the reported information on the information platform for food trade licensing and recordation administration.

Article 17 The applicant shall truthfully submit the relevant materials and report the true situation to the local market regulatory department at or above the county level, be responsible for the veracity of the application materials, and affix its signature or seal to the written application and other materials. A reliable electronic signature or electronic seal in compliance with legal provisions shall have the same legal effect as a handwritten signature or seal.

Article 18 The local market regulatory department at or above the county level shall handle the applicant's application for a food trade permit according to the following circumstances respective......