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Mainland Chinese shoppers lose trusted Hong Kong veggie tag as customs revamp hits shelves

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Zhu Wenqianin BeijingPublished: 3:00pm, 10 Sep 2026Updated: 3:06pm, 10 Sep 2026Mainland Chinese supermarkets, including US warehouse retailer Sam’s Club, have dropped the Hong Kong-bound vegetable label under new customs rules.The change has triggered widespread concern among consumers, as the label had long served as a selling point for high quality amid frequent mainland food-safety incidents.

The removal stems from new rules by the General Administration of Customs. From September 1, registration will no longer be required for growing farms, and only food-processing firms need to register.

This means vegetables grown on the same farms that supply Hong Kong can no longer carry the Hong Kong-bound label when sold in mainland supermarkets.

“Before, I just looked for the Hong Kong-bound label,” said a female consumer in a post this week on Chinese social media platform RedNote. “Now I must check the details myself, and that’s the change.”

Hong Kong-bound labelled lettuce was once a bestseller at Walmart-owned Sam’s Club on the mainland, drawing middle-class shoppers who trusted its quality.

Given its high popularity, the retailer added a tag on the product to explain the new customs rule. The 600-gram pack, still priced at 12.90 yuan (US$1.90), uses the same packaging and supplier from China’s northwestern Ningxia Hui autonomous region, distinguished only by the new “Dali lettuce” label.

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