Sourcing active dried brewers’ yeast from China

Zero duty on the relevant active-yeast lines

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 2102 covers active and inactive yeasts, other dead single-cell micro-organisms and prepared baking powders. The active-yeast lines shown carry 0% duty for goods from China, with no listed anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. This guide concerns living dried brewing yeast, rather than inactive nutritional yeast.

The tariff attaches an organic-products import control. For organic yeast imported from China into Great Britain, obtain a Great Britain certificate of inspection for each consignment and check the exporter’s control body and country against the non-UK organic registers. Ask your customs broker and organic control body to confirm the paperwork before shipment.

Confirm the commodity code from the product specification and intended use. The table distinguishes culture yeast from other active yeast and includes feeding alternatives; these are not interchangeable declarations for brewing ingredients. Feed use follows feed law. For the wider heading, see our instant dry baker’s yeast guide.

Specify the strain and fermentation performance

Specify the strain identity, intended beer style, fermentation temperature range, attenuation, settling behaviour and flavour profile. Agree a trial fermentation using your wort, with the supplier’s rehydration and pitching instructions. Set acceptance criteria for viable yeast, moisture, fermentation performance and microbiological results, and request a certificate of analysis tied to the production batch.

Agree pack size, moisture-barrier packaging, storage conditions and remaining shelf life on arrival. Ask the relevant food authority to confirm product name, ingredient, net quantity, date marking and UK food-business address requirements for retail packs sold in Great Britain. Food businesses must comply with food safety law; when starting or taking over a food business, register with the local authority.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 100 kg of active dried brewers’ yeast in sealed packs under 2102 10 90 90, invoiced at £2,000 free on board, with £1,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £3,500. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £3,500, so it is £700. With no duty, the only import tax is the VAT, which a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step. This assumes the goods are standard-rated for VAT. Most food for human consumption is zero-rated, and animal feed can be too, in which case no import VAT is due, so check the rate for your product in HMRC's VAT Notice 701/14.

Inspection checklist

Identity: match strain name, batch code and certificate of analysis to the purchase specification and sampled packs.

Fermentation: compare a trial in your wort with the approved sample; check fermentation progress, final flavour and settling.

Condition: check viable yeast and moisture against agreed limits, review microbiological results, and examine packs for leaks, dampness and caking.

Packing and labels: check seals, net weight, date codes and storage instructions; compare retail labels with the approved artwork. See quality inspection explained.

What goes wrong

A supplier’s description of “brewers’ yeast” can leave activity and intended use unclear. Ask explicitly whether the product is living fermentation yeast or inactive yeast. A strain that performs in the supplier’s test may behave differently in your wort, so approve it through a brewing trial before buying the production lot.

Heat exposure and leaking packs can reduce activity; moisture can cause caking, and contamination can spoil fermentation. Check arrival samples before releasing the lot into production. Keep retained samples and batch-matched documents so a complaint can be investigated against the supplied material.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For repeat volumes, see container programmes.