December 8, 2005

EU issues safety standards for meat and seafood imports
 

The European Commission has issued guidance documents outlining safety standards that companies from approved countries must meet, if they wanted to export meat and seafood to the bloc.

In recent years, the EU has sought to make fundamental changes to its food safety legislation, in a bid to tighten requirements on hygiene and traceability of supplies.

The guidance documents were a compilation of the requirements on meat and seafood imports, with the reform process now almost completed.

Food companies may only import from approved meat and seafood processors listed on public documents published by the European Commission. The lists might limit the companies' ability to source cheaper supplies for their products. But they provided an immediate contact point for non-EU processors, such as slaughterhouses, that complied with EU food safety requirements.

Non-EU countries first had to apply for approval from the EC. Once approved, individual exporters then applied to be listed as an approved meat and seafood supplier to EU companies. The prerequisite was that exporters had to undergo regular testing by their country's food safety authority and follow international food safety standards.

However, meat imports into the EU remained subject to veterinary certification by a competent authority of the non-EU country, which must also be recognised by the EC's Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection. In addition, the exporting country must be a member of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and meet OIE standards and reporting obligations.