The Memorandum of Understanding signed last June by the Food and Drug Administration and the Chinese government established a new registration procedure for U.S. food manufacturers that export infant formula and other dairy products to China. China also requires these companies to schedule a third-party audit to ensure they are compliant with Chinese laws and regulations before they can ship products to the country. The Chinese government this month published its updated list of dairy companies it will accept as importers to the country.

“IDFA has heard that several companies have previously experienced issues with their plant and product listings. We encourage all dairy companies to review this list and make sure your establishment and list of products are accurate,” said Beth Hughes, IDFA director of international affairs.

Updates and Audits

FDA's Dairy Listing Module allows U.S. dairy manufacturers and processors to apply for inclusion on the list, update listing information and reapply for the list. Dairy industry professionals must login or create an account to login to access the Dairy Listing Module.

Companies must successfully undergo a verification audit before being eligible to be on the list. The Chinese government recognizes the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) as a third-party certifier eligible to conduct verification audits.; plants not on the list cannot obtain an AMS export certificate or ship to China. Plants that were listed as of June 2017 and any newly listed plant must be audited once every two years. 

“Plants included on the June 2017 CNCA list should not wait until 2019 to schedule an AMS audit,” said Hughes.

Visit the USDA AMS website for more information on audit requirements for dairy product and infant formula exporters.

View the list of approved companies here.

For additional information, contact Hughes, at bhughes@idfa.org.