Announcement on Inspection and Quarantine Requirements for Imported Cuban Honey Products

　　In accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of China and the provisions of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Chinese side) and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Cuba (hereinafter referred to as the Cuban side) on the inspection, quarantine and hygiene requirements of honey exported to China, Cuban honey that meets the requirements is allowed to be imported from now on:

　　I. Inspection and quarantine basis

　　（I） Laws, regulations and departmental rules.

　　The Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China and its implementing regulations, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine and its implementing regulations, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Import and Export Commodity Inspection and its implementing regulations, the Special Provisions of the State Council on Strengthening the Supervision and Administration of the Safety of Food and Other Products, and the Administrative Measures for the Safety of Imported and Exported Food and the Administrative Provisions on the Registration of Imported Food Overseas Production Enterprises.

　　（II） Bilateral protocols.

　　Protocol of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Cuba on the Inspection, Quarantine and Hygiene Requirements of Honey Exported to China (hereinafter referred to as the Protocol).

　　II. The scope of Cuban honey products (hereinafter referred to as products) approved for import

　　The product refers to the natural sweet substance which is fully brewed by bees after collecting plant nectar, secretion or nectar and mixing it with their own secretion.

　　III. Requirements of product manufacturer

　　Manufacturers exporting honey to the People’s Republic of China shall be registered with the Chinese side. The competent authorities of Cuba shall review the honey production enterprises to be exported to China and recommend them to the Chinese side if they are determined to meet the requirements of Chinese laws, regulations, standards and protocols. Only manufacturing enterprises registered by the Chinese side are allowed to export products to China.

　　IV. Relevant inspection and quarantine requirements

　　（I） The ancient side confirmed that there was no Tropilaelaps mites in its territory.

　　（II） Bees that provide raw materials for products must come from a beekeeping farm located in the territory of Cuba, which should be registered with the local competent authority and subject to effective supervision. The nectar, secretion or nectar collected by bees from plants should be safe and non-toxic, and should not come from toxic honey source plants and transgenic plants.

　　（III） Within a radius of 5km and 12 months around the beekeeping farm, there is no American foolbrood of honey bees and European foolbrood of honey bees.

　　（IV） The quarantine requirements for Varroa and Aethinatumida Murray: this batch of products has been filtered with a filter with a pore diameter of less than 0.42mm; Or the central temperature shall be above 50 ℃ for at least 24 hours, or the central temperature shall not be higher than – 12 ℃ for at least 24 hours, to ensure the killing of the varroa di and the small beetle in the beehive, and take necessary measures to effectively remove their residues.

　　（V） During the whole process of production, storage and transportation, the products shall meet the sanitary requirements of China and Cuba to prevent pollution by toxic and harmful substances.

　　（VI） Products shall not be produced or mixed with products that do not meet the requirements of the Protocol.

　　（VII） The manufacturing enterprise shall set up an independent finished product warehouse or special area for storing products and clearly mark it.

　　（VIII） Cuba has formulated and implemented a national residue monitoring plan and has proved that the beekeepers that provide raw materials for products have never used veterinary drugs banned by the two countries; The residues of veterinary drugs, pesticides, microorganisms, heavy metals and other environmental pollutants in the products shall not exceed the maximum limits of China and Cuba; The product is sanitary, safe and suitable for human consumption; The products come from the production enterprises that have established traceability systems to ensure that the products can be traced to their beekeeping farms.

　　V. Certificate requirements

　　Each batch of products shall be accompanied by at least one original health certificate to prove that the batch of products conforms to the relevant laws and regulations of China and Cuba on health and the relevant provisions of the Protocol. The health certificate shall be written in Chinese, Spanish and English. The format and content of the health certificate shall be approved by both parties in advance.

　　VI. Product packaging and identification requirements

　　The products must be packaged with food contact materials that meet the national food safety standards of China. The package shall be sealed, and the product name, specification, origin (state/province/city), manufacturer registration number, production batch number, destination (destination shall be marked as the People’s Republic of China), production date (year/month/day), shelf life and other contents shall be indicated in Chinese. The label of prepackaged products shall also meet the requirements of Chinese laws, regulations and standards on the label of prepackaged food.

Article source：General Administration of Customs