Sourcing cleaned pork stomachs from China

Zero duty does not establish import permission

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 13 November 2026, heading 0504 covers animal guts, bladders and stomachs other than fish, whole or in pieces, fresh, chilled, frozen, salted, in brine, dried or smoked. Cleaned pork stomachs supplied as stomachs fall within the other-products line, 0504 00 00 90. The table shows preservation forms sharing that tariff line.

The supplied tariff record gives 0% duty for goods from China, with no anti-dumping or countervailing measure and no suspension listed. It attaches veterinary control, organic import control and CITES import and export controls. The importer should confirm the applicable requirements with their customs broker. These tariff entries do not override the prohibition on importing cleaned pork stomachs from China as food into Great Britain.

Ask your broker to confirm the commodity code against the actual product, preservation and intended use. Casings are separately described in the natural sausage casings guide. A processor's casings-only approval does not establish approval for stomachs supplied as food.

Specify the stomach and its cleaning

For a lawful supply route, specify pork stomachs, whole or cut, chilled or frozen, and whether supplied raw or treated. Describe the cleaning process, removal of contents, trimming of external fat, treatment of the inner lining, and any salt or other ingredients used.

Agree size and weight grading, drained net weight, individual or block freezing, pack format and storage conditions. Use photographs and an agreed sample to define acceptable trimming and appearance. Establish import eligibility before commissioning production for Great Britain.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative only: 2 tonnes of frozen cleaned pork stomachs; a tariff calculation, not an admissible food import from China into Great Britain under 0504 00 00 90, invoiced at £12,600 free on board, with £3,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £15,600. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £15,600, so it is £3,120. 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.

Inspection checklist

Eligibility: check the product description and intended use against the proposed import route; do not accept casings-only approval as clearance for edible stomachs.

Cleaning: examine inner folds for retained contents, loose lining and foreign matter; compare fat trimming with the agreed sample.

Condition: check colour, odour, texture and signs of thawing against the specification; appearance alone cannot establish food safety.

Packing: check seals, leaks, batch identification, drained weight and transport temperature records. Use the quality inspection guide to organise the checks.

What goes wrong

The main purchasing error is treating zero duty or a supplier's casings approval as permission to import cleaned stomachs for food. China's animal-origin food restrictions allow specified exceptions; cleaned pork stomachs supplied as food are outside those exceptions. Do not place a Great Britain food order on the strength of a tariff code alone.

Quality disputes arise when cleaning and trimming are described only as clean. Retained material in folds, excessive external fat, inconsistent cuts, excess packing liquid and leaking packs should have agreed acceptance criteria. For any lawful supply route, compare arrival condition with the agreed specification and record discrepancies before accepting the lot.

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.