Verify the legal entity, the actual manufacturing address and licence scope first; then verify the factory's food-safety system with records, an audit and evidence tied to the proposed lot. A business licence, certificate, video call or passing sample answers only one part of the question. Before container commitment, the buyer needs an evidence chain showing who will manufacture the tea, where it will be made, what that site is authorised and able to produce, how hazards are controlled, and how the approved sample will remain connected to the shipment.

Do not treat one document as factory approval

A supplier may involve three different parties: the contracting seller, the manufacturer and the exporter of record. Record each party's Chinese legal name, English trading name, Unified Social Credit Code, registered address, production address, bank beneficiary and role. If the quotation says “our factory” but the production licence belongs to another company, that may be a legitimate contract-manufacturing arrangement; it is still a relationship the buyer must identify and control.

China's Food Production Licensing Measures require a food producer to hold a production licence. The licence identifies the producer, social credit code, legal representative, residence, production address, food category, licence number, validity and issuing authority; the number begins with SC followed by 14 digits. For tea, confirm that the licensed category and detailed scope cover the product and operation being offered. A real licence for the wrong address, category or entity is not a match.

Build one source-of-truth verification table

EvidenceVerify independentlyMust matchStop signal
Enterprise identitySAMR National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity SystemChinese name, credit code, status, address, legal representativeCancelled entity, unexplained abnormal status or different payee
Food production licenceSAMR or issuing provincial authority's licence querySC number, producer, production site, tea scope and validityExpired, revoked, wrong site or missing tea category
Export-food producer filingCurrent GACC / China Customs filing channel or official evidenceFiled entity, site and product roleOnly a trader is identified, or the factory cannot evidence filing
Destination eligibilityImport authority or buyer's regulatory adviserFactory, product, destination and shipment dateA generic “export licence” is offered instead of market-specific evidence
CertificationCertificate owner's database or certification bodyLegal entity, site, activity scope, standard, dates and statusLogo or PDF cannot be authenticated, or scope excludes the site

The National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System allows searches by legal name or Unified Social Credit Code and exposes enterprise, abnormal-operation and serious-illegality information. Save a dated PDF or screenshot and keep the Chinese original as the controlling identity record.

Use this ten-step pre-container method

  1. Define the supply chain on one page. Ask the seller to name the contracting entity, manufacturing site, exporter, laboratory, warehouse and any subcontracted packing site. Draw the product and document flow. Do not begin the audit while the identity of the actual factory is still ambiguous.
  2. Verify the enterprise at source. Search the exact Chinese legal name and credit code in the official SAMR system. Compare status, registered address, legal representative, establishment information, annual filings and disclosed regulatory records with the quotation, invoice and bank account. Ask for an explanation and corroboration for every mismatch.
  3. Verify the production licence and scope. Read the licence and its detailed annex, not only the SC number. Match producer name, production address, tea category, permitted products, issuing authority and validity against the factory that will make the order. A move to a new production site requires fresh licensing under the SAMR measures.
  4. Confirm export status and destination rules. China's current customs guide states that export-food producers are subject to filing and should operate a hazard-analysis and preventive-control-based food-safety system. Separately identify every registration, listing, certificate or establishment approval required by the destination. Chinese filing does not prove eligibility for every foreign market.
  5. Authenticate voluntary certificates. If ISO 22000, FSSC 22000, BRCGS, organic, halal or another certification matters to the purchase, verify it through the certification body or scheme database. Record site, scope, standard edition, issue and expiry dates, status and exclusions. Certification is supporting evidence, not a replacement for legal checks or buyer verification.
  6. Audit the real process. Use an onsite audit by a competent person when risk warrants. If remote screening comes first, control the route: begin outside with the address sign, move live through receiving, processing, sorting, blending, metal or foreign-body control, packing, finished-goods storage, chemical storage, laboratory and dispatch. Request contemporaneous records during the walk. Edited videos and selected photographs are background evidence only.
  7. Test whether the system works. Review the product-specific hazard analysis, supplier approval, incoming inspection, pesticide-control inputs, cleaning, pest control, calibration, glass and brittle-plastic control, non-conforming product, complaints, corrective action, staff training and change control. Codex CXC 1-1969 explains that monitoring, corrective action, verification and documentation should support a preventive food-hygiene system.
  8. Run a traceability challenge. Select one recent finished-tea lot and ask the factory to trace backward to raw-material lots and forward to packing and dispatch records. Reconcile dates, quantities, rework, losses, labels and remaining stock. China's export-food rules specifically call for supplier evaluation, incoming inspection, production, release, traceability and non-conforming-food records. A prepared traceability procedure is weaker than a timed trace using real records.
  9. Connect the sample to the lot. Approve a properly identified sample, write the specification and define representative sampling, laboratory scope, decision rules and retained samples. Use the site's bulk green tea purchase specification, representative sampling method and COA review checklist. A good pre-contract sample does not prove the later container.
  10. Close the contract and monitoring loop. Name the manufacturer and approved site in the purchase contract. Control subcontracting, specification precedence, change notification, audit access, lot identity, sampling, testing, pre-shipment release, packing, seal records, non-conformity, remedies and document retention. Set a review frequency based on risk and performance, with immediate reevaluation after a material change, serious complaint, failed test or regulatory event.

What the audit evidence pack should contain

  • Dated official registry and licence checks, with original Chinese names and numbers.
  • Supply-chain map identifying seller, manufacturer, exporter, laboratory and warehouse.
  • Audit scope, auditor competence, findings, objective evidence and corrective-action closure.
  • Product-specific hazard analysis and the records selected during the visit, not a generic manual alone.
  • Traceability-challenge inputs, timing, quantity reconciliation and conclusion.
  • Approved sample identity, specification, test plan, representative sampling instruction and release rule.
  • Contract clauses for site changes, subcontracting, access, lot linkage, deviations and remedies.

For U.S. buyers subject to the rule, FDA's Foreign Supplier Verification Programs overview illustrates the risk-based logic: evaluate food hazards and supplier performance, approve suppliers, select suitable verification such as audits, testing or record review, take corrective action and reevaluate. This is a U.S. legal framework with exemptions and modified requirements; it is not a universal checklist and does not transfer the importer's responsibility to the factory.

Keep five different requirements separate

  • Legal requirement: Chinese licensing and export controls, plus destination food and import law, apply according to their jurisdiction and effective date.
  • Official record: a government registry entry is source evidence about a stated status; it is not a product guarantee or private audit.
  • Voluntary standard: Codex or a certification scheme provides a framework unless law or contract makes a defined part controlling.
  • Buyer specification: the buyer sets measurable product, testing, packing, documentation and release requirements for the intended use.
  • Contract requirement: the signed agreement allocates responsibilities, evidence, change control, acceptance and remedies between the parties.

Common buyer mistakes

  • Searching only the English trading name instead of the Chinese legal entity.
  • Paying a beneficiary that has no documented role in the supply chain.
  • Accepting an SC number without checking the factory address and tea scope.
  • Calling a trader's office, warehouse or staged video the manufacturing site.
  • Assuming a certificate logo proves current status or covers every activity.
  • Using a social audit as a food-safety audit, or a food-safety audit as legal approval.
  • Reviewing procedures without sampling records that show implementation.
  • Approving a display sample that is not tied to the production lot.
  • Placing a container order before traceability, corrective actions and contract controls close.
  • Treating past approval as permanent after ownership, address, process or supplier changes.

Practical conclusion

The defensible sequence is identify every party - verify official records - match licence scope to the site - confirm export and destination eligibility - audit the process - challenge traceability - connect sample to lot - close the contract - monitor change. No single certificate proves a factory. Approval is a documented buyer decision based on independent sources and current, product-specific evidence.

Review Yunjing Tea's factory and Wufeng origin overview, compare the site's sample-to-shipment quality checkpoints and bulk packing options, then send the destination, tea type, specification, pack and verification documents required before requesting a container quotation.

Sources checked 10 August 2026: SAMR National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, official search help; SAMR, Food Production Licensing Measures (effective 1 March 2020); China Customs / China E-Port, export-food producer filing guide; GACC, export-food inspection and quarantine guide citing the Measures effective 1 January 2022; Codex CXC 1-1969, General Principles of Food Hygiene (2023 edition; revised 2022); and U.S. FDA, FSVP At-a-Glance.