China will put into effect a revised regulation on quarantine of imported fruit as of July 5 this year.

The move is aimed to prevent harmful organism and toxic matters from entering China and protect its agricultural production, ecological safety and people's health.

A number of new specifications are contained in the new rules compared with the regulations on quarantine of imported fruit issued in 1999.

The new rules stipulate that the contents of harmful and toxic matters of imported fruit should not exceed China's food hygiene requirements. The packages of imported fruit should bear the fruit name, place of production, packing unit and code either in Chinese or in English.

The storing sites for imported fruit should be supervised and managed by local quarantine departments. And they should have adequate space of storage, be equipped with essential facilities to ensure the quality of fruit imports and reach the standard of quarantine and epidemic control.

Fruit re-exported from Hong Kong and Macao should be carried in TEUs (Twenty-foot equivalent unit) of containers, and be shipped to the Chinese mainland with the original packing and original quarantine certificate.