China's Tea Export Sanitation Guarantee System
1. Top-level Laws & Government Supervision Framework
Centered on the Measures for the Administration of Import and Export Food Safety (General Administration of Customs Order No. 249), a coordinated supervision system covering multiple competent authorities has been established to manage tea sanitation from planting to overseas delivery.
General Administration of Customs (Core Regulator) Responsible for filing registration of tea plantations and processing factories, on-site inspection and sampling at ports, detention of non-compliant shipments, and cross-national early warning of food safety risks.
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Formulates national standards for pesticide residue limits in tea, regulates green planting practices, and supervises agrochemical inputs in tea gardens.
Ministry of Commerce & China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Light Industrial Products and Arts-Crafts (Tea Branch) Issues industrial technical guidelines for export tea, unifies sanitation specifications, and addresses global technical trade barriers.
State Administration for Market Regulation Enforces food production licensing for tea manufacturers and hygiene standards for food-contact packaging materials such as aluminum-plastic composite films.
Mandatory Double Filing System (Entry Threshold for All Export Tea)
No tea is allowed for export without completing both registrations:
Registered Raw Material Tea Gardens Contiguous tea planting areas with isolation belts are required. Soil and irrigation water must pass heavy metal testing. Full records of pesticides and fertilizers are kept for traceability. The large-scale registered base model is widely promoted for unified sanitation management.
Registered Tea Processing Factories Factories must implement the HACCP food safety system and pass on-site customs audits covering workshops, equipment, staff and warehouses. All qualified factory names are published nationwide by the General Administration of Customs.
Credit-based Graded Supervision
Customs categorizes enterprises into AEO Senior Certified Enterprises, General Registered Enterprises and High-Risk Enterprises:
AEO-certified tea manufacturers enjoy reduced sampling rates and priority customs clearance;
Enterprises repeatedly failing sanitation or pesticide residue tests will face full-batch mandatory inspection, export restrictions or even revoked registration qualifications.
2. Source Sanitation Control in Tea Gardens (First Line of Defense)
Pollution Isolation for Plantations Tea gardens are separated from industrial zones, livestock farms and dusty highways by shelterbelts. Regular cleaning of weeds and animal waste prevents eggs, sediment and microbes from contaminating fresh tea leaves.
Strict Control of Agrochemical Inputs (Key to Pesticide Residue Control) Highly toxic and persistent pesticides are fully banned. Only low-toxic registered agrochemicals are permitted with mandatory safety intervals before harvesting. Physical pest control tools (sticky traps, insect lamps) and organic fertilizers are prioritized. All pesticide and fertilizer usage is recorded block by block for full traceability.
Sanitation Standards for Tea Picking Pickers wear clean uniforms and disposable gloves to avoid direct hand contact with fresh leaves. Breathable bamboo baskets are used for leaf collection to prevent mildew caused by sealed plastic bags. Rain-soaked, muddy and rotten leaves are rejected on site. Fresh leaves are transported in closed dedicated vehicles to avoid dust and pest contamination.
3. Full-process Dust-free Sanitation Control in Processing Plants
Standardized Workshop Hardware
Fully enclosed dust-free workshops equipped with air showers for staff entry. Zoned layout separates raw material storage, primary processing, sorting and packaging to avoid cross-contamination between people and goods.
Waterproof, washable walls and floors. All windows and doors fitted with insect-proof nets. Fly traps and mouse repellent devices are installed with regular ozone disinfection cycles.
All production equipment is made of food-grade stainless steel to eliminate rust and metal debris contamination.
Sanitation Management for Each Production Stage
Primary Processing (Fixing, Rolling, Drying) All machines are cleaned with food-grade detergent after each shift to remove residual stale tea that may breed mold. Precise temperature control avoids burnt leaves and mildew. Gentle rolling processes minimize broken tea dust which easily traps foreign contaminants.
Multi-stage Purification during Refining (For Clean & Whole Tea Leaves) Winnowing removes tea dust, yellow and rotten leaves damaged by pests. Color sorters automatically eliminate mold-stained, insect-eaten and discolored leaves. Manual sorting on sterile worktables strips out foreign matter including hair, plastic filaments, weeds and insect bodies.
Mandatory Staff Hygiene Rules Employees must change into factory uniform, hairnet, mask and gloves before entering workshops. No jewelry is allowed. Regular medical examinations are conducted; staff with infectious or skin diseases are prohibited from production lines.
Hygiene Compliance of Packaging Materials
Food-grade polypropylene aluminum foil composite film is used for inner packaging, with complete test reports covering plasticizer and heavy metal limits. Outer cartons are food-grade waterproof corrugated paper free of odor and ink migration. Packaging workshops operate under independent dust-free environments, with a final light winnowing before bagging to remove residual dust.
4. Multi-level Testing & International Certification System
Three-tier Testing Mechanism
In-house Garden Testing: On-site labs test fresh leaf pesticide residues and soil heavy metals.
Factory Pre-shipment Full Inspection: Every batch undergoes comprehensive tests for pesticide residues, heavy metals, total bacterial count, mold and foreign substances. Non-conforming batches are blocked from delivery.
Third-party Authorized Testing: Customs-accredited labs (including national tea quality inspection centers) conduct over 200 items of residue and microbial testing to meet strict standards of the EU, Japan and other markets.
Globally Recognized Compliance Certifications
Enterprises obtain targeted certifications for different import markets: Organic Certification, HACCP, ISO22000, EU EUDR, Japan Positive List compliance certificates, etc.
5. Sanitation Protection During Finished Tea Storage & Sea Transportation
Constant-temperature Hygienic Warehouses Storage rooms maintain temperature ≤22℃ and relative humidity below 60%. All tea pallets are lifted off floors and walls. Full sealing and dehumidification systems with regular disinfection prevent rodent and insect infestation. Tea is vacuum-sealed or nitrogen-filled in aluminum foil bags to block moisture, dust and pests. Different grades of tea are stored in separate zones to avoid cross-contamination.
Container Sanitation Management for Ocean Shipment Empty containers are thoroughly cleaned, dried and disinfected before loading. Tea pallets are wrapped in protective film. Chemicals, hardware, fresh food and fertilizers are forbidden to be loaded in the same container as tea. Desiccants are placed inside containers to prevent leaf dampness and microbial growth during transit.
6. Customs Port Inspection & Supervision (Final Export Checkpoint)
Document Review: Customs verifies plantation registration, factory filing, factory test reports, certificates of origin and third-party sanitation inspection documents.
On-site Visual Inspection: Random container opening to check tea for mold spots, insects, sediment and strange odors, and verify packaging compliance.
Laboratory Sampling Testing: Samples are drawn to test pesticide residues, heavy metals and microbes. Non-compliant cargo will be returned or destroyed, and enterprises are required to launch full batch recall.
Overseas Risk Response Mechanism: If importing countries notify sanitation non-compliance, customs will impose full-batch inspection on the relevant manufacturer, trace the entire contamination chain and force rectification. Severe violations lead to revoked export registration.
7. Digital Full-chain Traceability System
Blockchain and digital tracking are widely applied to Chinese export tea. Each batch carries a unique trace code, which can retrieve full records including planting plot, picking date, agrochemical logs, processing parameters, inspection reports, warehousing, container loading and customs declaration. Any sanitation issue can be traced back to the exact responsible link. All production and sanitation records are legally preserved for a minimum of 2 years.
Core Features of the Sanitation System
Closed-loop full coverage: Zero blind spots in sanitation control from tea garden to overseas receiving warehouse;
Statutorily mandatory: Double filing, pre-shipment testing and port sampling are legal obligations, with enterprises bearing primary food safety responsibility;
Dual-standard compatibility: Meets both China's national standards and global sanitation & pesticide residue limits for tea imports;
Risk prevention oriented: Prioritizes source control with port inspection as the final safeguard to avoid four major sanitation hazards: foreign contaminants, mold, excessive pesticide residues and microbial overgrowth.