Sourcing food preparations from China

Buy a defined formulation, not a product name

This guide focuses on blended food ingredients, protein hydrolysates, yeast autolysates and supplement bases. Heading 2106 covers food preparations not elsewhere specified or included; it is not a universal code for anything edible. Its subdivisions distinguish preparations by milk fat, sucrose, isoglucose, glucose and starch. For instant coffee and tea extracts, see our coffee and tea extracts guide. For creamer procurement, see our non-dairy creamer sourcing guide. For hoisin sauce, see our hoisin sauce sourcing guide.

Request a signed formulation showing every ingredient and its percentage, including carriers in flavours and vitamin premixes. Record the product’s physical form, intended use, serving instructions and proposed claims. Ask the supplier to identify animal-derived ingredients separately.

Make the approved recipe, sample and label artwork one controlled specification. Require written approval before ingredient substitution or a change of manufacturing site. Use the product specification guide to structure the enquiry, then complete the commodity-code check against the actual formulation.

Where to find ingredient suppliers

Food Ingredients China, 中国国际食品添加剂和配料展览会（FIC）, is a named ingredient-sourcing route. Exhibitor Foodchem’s FIC2025 notice places that edition at NECC (Shanghai). The organiser’s exhibition categories include flavourings and seasonings, natural and functional products, and testing instruments. This is a documented past edition, not an announcement of the next event.

Use the exhibitor categories to separate ingredient producers from finished-blend manufacturers. Send prospective suppliers the same formulation brief and ask who performs blending, heat treatment where applicable, packing and batch testing. Treat a stand visit as a way to find candidates; follow up at the manufacturing site.

For a supplement base, request the specification of each active ingredient and its carrier. For a savoury hydrolysate or yeast preparation, request a sample for testing in your actual application. Agree the comparison method before selecting a supplier. For yeast ingredients, see our yeast and baking powder sourcing guide.

Duty: two selected lines, not a blanket 2106 rate

These are selected classification routes, not an exhaustive list. Both carry 12% third-country duty. Recheck the tariff and any relief conditions for your exact goods and declaration date before budgeting.

Check anti-dumping measures for Chinese-origin goods on the declaration date. The second row is a residual subdivision within the low-milk-fat, low-sugar/starch branch, not a default code for every supplement or protein blend. For individual ingredients, see our pea protein and protein isolates guide. For trade in the other direction, see exporting UK protein powders to China. For vitamin products in that direction, see exporting vitamin supplements to China.

Worked example: a sports nutrition drink powder

Hypothetical example, not a supplier quotation: assume a sports nutrition drink powder has been correctly classified under 2106909285 and the ordinary 12% duty applies. Its agreed customs value, including freight and insurance to the UK border, is £10,000. Duty is £10,000 × 12% = £1,200.

Assume a further £300 of clearance and transport costs must be included in the import VAT value, with no other additions. The VAT base is £10,000 + £1,200 + £300 = £11,500. At 20%, import VAT is £2,300; duty plus import VAT is £3,500.

The 20% treatment here follows HMRC VAT Notice 701/14, section 4.6.1: sports nutrition drinks and powders for making them are standard-rated when marketed for the specified performance, recovery or muscle-building purposes. Do not apply this result automatically to a cooking ingredient or another food preparation. HMRC bases import VAT on the customs value plus duty and relevant incidental expenses. See the UK duty and VAT calculation guide.

UK rules: choose the sales category and destination

For supplements, the UK importer is legally responsible for composition, safety and labelling. GOV.UK identifies separate legislation for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Plan the compliance review for the place of sale; the Great Britain import route should not be assumed to cover Northern Ireland.

For England, the Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003 remain available as revised legislation, rather than a revoked instrument. Regulation 6 requires the sales name ‘food supplement’, recommended daily consumption, warnings against exceeding that dose, statements about a varied diet and keeping the product away from young children, and the amount of the characteristic nutrients or substances.

Check the final English artwork against the full ingredient specification. UK allergen information must be in English. Food marketed in Great Britain must carry the responsible food business’s address in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man. Do not claim that a food treats, prevents or cures disease.

Two ingredient questions can change the project before production: novel ingredients without significant UK or EU consumption before 15 May 1997 require authorisation before placement on the GB market; preparations combining processed animal products and plant ingredients may fall within composite-product import rules. Ask for the identity and origin of animal ingredients and resolve the applicable import route before shipment. For oyster-based sauces, see our oyster sauce sourcing guide.

Batch release: what to inspect and what to test

Recommended purchase controls: agree a batch-release sheet linking the recipe version, raw-material lots, production date, laboratory results and finished-pack lot number. Set test methods and acceptance limits for the actual product with a competent food laboratory; avoid a generic ‘food-grade’ certificate with no batch identification.

For powders and premixes, specify checks for blend uniformity, active-ingredient content, moisture, dispersibility and flavour against the approved sample. Treat caking, segregation, an incorrect scoop or inconsistent mixing instructions as explicit inspection questions. These are proposed acceptance checks, not claims that every blend requires the same statutory test panel.

Allergen carry-over is a separate control problem: FSA describes accidental contamination during manufacturing, handling, transport and storage. Inspect ingredient segregation, shared equipment, rework and cleaning records; agree any necessary product or cleaning-validation tests with the laboratory. A finished-product test should accompany the process review.

For liquid preparations, agree checks for separation, closure integrity and storage performance. For every format, request evidence supporting the proposed shelf life and storage conditions, inspect seals and batch/date printing, and retain reference samples. Specify microbiological and contaminant testing according to the ingredients and process.

Review the packaging specification alongside the food-contact materials guide. If you are buying individual sweeteners or creatine rather than a formulated blend, consult the saccharin and creatine guide. Bring the formulation, label draft and proposed test plan to our testing and certification service before approving production.

Related help: our services.