GAIN Reports from Thursday, October 8, 2020

The following Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) reports were released on Thursday, October 8, 2020.    China: China and the EU Signed a Geographical Indications Agreement On September 14, 2020, China and the European Union signed a bilateral agreement on geographical indications (GIs). The agreement protects 100 European GIs in China and 100 Chinese GIs in the European Union. The agreement is expected to enter into force at the beginning of 2021. Within four years after its entry into force, the scope of the agreement will expand to cover an additional 175 GIs from each side. China: China Notifies Draft National Food Safety Standard - Beverages On September 14, 2020 China notified a draft revised National Food Safety Standard for Beverages to the World Trade Organization as G/SPS/N/CHN/1169. Once finalized, the revised standard will replace the current National Food Safety Standard for Beverages (GB7101-2015), which was issued in November 2015 and entered into force a year later. Compared to the current standard, the revised standard revises certain terms and definitions, sensory requirements, physical and chemical indicators, microbial limits, and other requirements. China has not announced a proposed date of entry into force of the revised standard. Comments can be sent to China's SPS Enquiry Point at sps@customs.gov.cn by November 13, 2020. This report contains an unofficial translation of the draft standard. China: China Notifies Draft National Food Safety Standard - General Rules for Nutritional Labeling of Prepackaged Foods On September 14, 2020, China notified a draft revised National Food Safety Standard - General Rules for Nutritional Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (GB28050-xxxx) to the World Trade Organization as G/SPS/N/CHN/1165. Once finalized, the revised standard will replace the current National Food Safety Standard - General Rules for Nutritional Labeling of Prepackaged Foods, which was released in 2011. Compared to the 2011 version, the revised draft includes additional nutrients required to be listed on labels, adds recommended serving size information, modifies the label format and the terminology of nutritional claims, and amends the list of foods that are exempted from required nutritional labeling, among other changes. China has not announced a proposed date of entry into force of the revised standard. Comments can be sent to China's SPS Enquiry Point at sps@customs.gov.cn by November 13, 2020. This report contains an unofficial translation of the draft standard. China: China Notifies Draft National Food Safety Standard - Metal Materials and Products for Food Contact On September 14, 2020 China notified a draft revised National Food Safety Standard for Metal Materials and Articles for Food Contact to the World Trade Organization as G/SPS/N/CHN/1170. Once finalized, the revised standard will replace the current National Food Safety Standard GB4806.9-2016. Compared to the current standard, the revised standard modifies certain terms and definitions, the raw material requirements, and the label identification requirements, among other changes. China has not announced a proposed date of entry into force of the revised standard. Comments can be sent to China's SPS Enquiry Point at sps@customs.gov.cn by November 13, 2020. This report contains an unofficial translation of the draft standard. China: China Notifies Draft Measures on Supervision and Management of Food Labeling On September 23, 2020, China notified revised draft Measures on Supervision and Management of Food Labeling to the World Trade Organization as G/TBT/N/CHN 1401.Add.1. A previous draft of the measures was released by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) for public comment on November 20, 2019 and notified to the World Trade Organization on December 12, 2019 as G/TBT/N/CHN 1401. SAMR released the currently notified draft (G/TBT/N/CHN 1401.Add.1) for domestic comment on July 27, 2020. Compared to the previous draft, the revised draft modifies the product scope with the addition of special foods and food additives, as well as adding a chapter on special foods. The measures are intended to apply to both imported and domestically produced products. China has not announced a comment deadline, a point of contact for submission of comments, nor a proposed date of entry into force for the measures. This report contains an unofficial translation of the revised draft measures. India: COVID-19 in India - Weekly Food Retail Update   Weekly report as of October 9, 2020, of COVID-19 impact on India's food retail sector. India: COVID-19 in India - Weekly Port Situation Update   Weekly report as of October 9, 2020, of COVID-19 impact on Indian port operations. Japan: Japan Revised Phytosanitary Certificate Requirements for Agricultural Products On August 5, 2020, Japan revised the list of agricultural imports that require a phytosanitary certificate (PC). Japan implemented a 3-year transition period for imports previously exempted from the PC requirement. U.S. stakeholders are advised to work with importers to confirm PC requirements with Japan's quarantine officers. Mexico: Mexico Announces Changes to its Milk Powder Import Procedures   Mexico announced proposed changes to its milk powder import procedures under the "Agreement under which the Secretariat of Economy emits rules and criteria to the general characterization of Foreign Trade". This GAIN report includes a Spanish-language copy of Mexico's notification to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and a non-official, courtesy English translation. Stakeholders should submit comments as instructed in the notification before Thursday, November 26, 2020. Mexico: Modifications to the Mexican Foreign Trade Law Removes Prior Exemptions to Front-of-Package Labeling   On October 1, 2020 Mexico modified its Foreign Trade Law Agreement to comply with its new Front-of-Package Labeling (FOPL) law that also went into effect on October 1. The modifications require shipments of prepackaged food products previously exempted from labeling to immediately comply with the new labeling law by removing exemptions for: imported goods that would not be sold to the public in the form in which they were imported; imported goods to be used directly by a company not subject to commercialization; products destined to remain in the border area or regions of Mexico; and products imported by those who carry out marketing activities and provides restaurant, hotel, leisure, cultural, recreational, sports, educational services, research, medical and social assistance. Prepackaged products within those categories—including foodservice products—must now comply with the new labeling standard. South Africa: South African Citrus Exports Expected to Reach Record Levels Amid COVID-19 South African citrus exports, both globally and to the United States (U.S.), are expected to reach record levels in 2020. This is based on the pace of exports up to August 2020, increased production, a spike in demand for health reasons and limited logistics disruptions from COVID-19. The United States is considered a premium market and South African citrus exports to the U.S. are expected to reach record levels of above 70,000 Metric Tons (MT) in 2020, up 10 percent from the previous record of 63,544 MT in 2018. South African citrus enters the U.S. duty free under the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA).   For more information, or for an archive of all FAS GAIN reports, please visit gain.fas.usda.gov/.     Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your email address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please visit subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com. This service is provided to you at no charge by USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. 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