Cheese|HS Code

Cheese harmonized system code

Product Overview The product under consideration is Cheese, classified under the Harmonized System (HS) Code 0406. Cheese, as defined by this HS Code, is the product obtained by coagulating milk proteins, known as casein, through the addition of acids or bacterial cultures, followed by the partial removal of whey. Key attributes include the type of milk used (cow, goat, sheep, or buffalo), the processing techniques (such as pasteurized or raw milk cheese), moisture content, fat content, and aging duration, among others. HS Code 0406 has several subcategories, including fresh cheese (0406.10), grated or powdered cheese (0406.20), processed cheese (0406.30), and other types of cheese (0406.40 to 0406.90). Commercially, cheese is used in a wide array of applications in the food service, retail, and food processing industry, including baking, cooking, food pairing, and stand-alone consumption. The competitive edge of cheese is its versatility in culinary applications, cultural importance, and high nutritional value. HS Code Classification & Trade Specifications The full HS Code for Cheese is defined hierarchically as follows: Chapter 04 (Dairy produce; birds' eggs; natural honey; edible products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included), Heading 06 (Cheese and curd). This product is classified under this code due to its production process involving the coagulation of milk proteins and subsequent processing. When trading cheese internationally, it's common to package the product in vacuum-sealed bags or wax-coated blocks to maintain freshness, quality, and extend shelf life during transport. Cold chain logistics is typically required to ensure the product's temperature remains within the safe range to prevent spoilage. Depending on the destination country, the product must meet specific quality standards, such as the Codex Alimentarius Standard for Cheese (CODEX STAN 283-1978), and it may need to comply with specific labeling regulations. The HS Code 0406 is essential for accurate customs documentation and facilitates trade compliance, ensuring smooth international transactions.

Cheese Chapter Note

1.- The expression “milk” means full cream milk or partially or completely skimmed milk. 2.- For the purposes of heading 04.03, yogurt may be concentrated or flavoured and may contain added sugar or other sweetening matter, fruit, nuts, cocoa, chocolate, spices, coffee or coffee extracts, plants, parts of plants, cereals or bakers’ wares, provided that any added substance is not used for the purpose of replacing, in whole or in part, any milk constituent, and the product retains the essential character of yogurt. 3.- For the purposes of heading 04.05 : (a) The term “butter” means natural butter, whey butter or recombined butter (fresh, salted or rancid, including canned butter) derived exclusively from milk, with a milkfat content of 80 % or more but not more than 95 % by weight, a maximum milk solids-not-fat content of 2 % by weight and a maximum water content of 16 % by weight. Butter does not contain added emulsifiers, but may contain sodium chloride, food colours, neutralising salts and cultures of harmless lactic-acidproducing bacteria. (b) The expression “dairy spreads” means a spreadable emulsion of the water-in-oil type, containing milkfat as the only fat in the product, with a milkfat content of 39 % or more but less than 80 % by weight. 4.- Products obtained by the concentration of whey and with the addition of milk or milkfat are to be classified as cheese in heading 04.06 provided that they have the three following characteristics : (a) a milkfat content, by weight of the dry matter, of 5 % or more; (b) a dry matter content, by weight, of at least 70 % but not exceeding 85 %; and (c) they are moulded or capable of being moulded. 5.- This Chapter does not cover : (a) Non-living insects, unfit for human consumption (heading 05.11); (b) Products obtained from whey, containing by weight more than 95 % lactose, expressed as anhydrous lactose calculated on the dry matter (heading 17.02); (c) Products obtained from milk by replacing one or more of its natural constituents (for example, butyric fats) by another substance (for example, oleic fats) (heading 19.01 or 21.06); or (d) Albumins (including concentrates of two or more whey proteins, containing by weight more than 80 % whey proteins, calculated on the dry matter) (heading 35.02) or globulins (heading 35.04). 6.- For the purposes of heading 04.10, the term “insects” means edible non-living insects, whole or in parts, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, smoked, salted or in brine, as well as flours and meals of insects, fit for human consumption. However, it does not cover edible non-living insects otherwise prepared or preserved (generally Section IV).