A batch of Brazilian frozen chicken products carried by CMA-CGM arrived at Guangzhou' s Nansha Port on July 31 to await food inspection by local customs.

Customs officers inspect a shipment of cold chain products. [Photo/gznsnews.com.cn]

The wait will not be long. Construction of the Haixin Cold Chain Inspection Center, the first comprehensive closed-type cold chain inspection and storage infrastructure, has accelerated the rapid development of Nansha' s cold chain industry as a whole, according to customs' internal data.

Statistics show that Nansha Port welcomed 7.5 tons of imported frozen food in the first half of this year, valued at $180 million, respectively 77.7 percent and 66.5 percent increases year on year.

"Generally speaking, the whole process from declaration to examination only takes one day and a half," said a leader of the inspection department.

"With an overseas food hygiene license, we are to come here and take a pre-test about the license and cargo passage. Having passed the pre-test, we save time in subsequent steps of declaration and inspection," explained a manager surnamed He from Guangzhou Zhongkecheng Trade Co, Ltd.

Furthermore, the customs adopted a totally-enclosed inspection model so as to save manpower.

The new inspection center is located in Longxue island, and covers an area of 2,500 square meters.

Proper temperatures are set to guarantee food safety, with about 10 C being constantly maintained in the inspection center, and minus 18 C in the refrigeration house.