Important Notice: New Inspection Guidelines for Mexico to Take Effect April 25
Published: Mar 25, 2011
On March 22, Mexico’s agricultural ministry’s (SAGARPA) Directorates of Animal Health (imports/exports) and Inspections announced new guidelines for inspecting imported livestock products, including imported meat and variety meat. Three new requirements are scheduled to be put in place within one month for meat and variety meat:
Mexico has announced that the new inspection procedures will be enforced effective April 25. Local trade representatives are concerned about potential problems in meeting these new requirements on such short notice, which may cause unnecessary delays and increase their handling and storage costs when export certificates and shipping container labels need to be corrected. USMEF-Mexico and USAPEEC have shared these concerns with the local trade and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico. USMEF will continue to closely monitor the situation and work with stakeholders, including USDA officials in Mexico, to seek further clarification and mitigate the potential negative impact on U.S. exports. Further updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
- In addition to the place (city) of origin in the United States, the new SAGARPA guideline now requires the final destination of the load in Mexico to be included on the export certificate (MP).
- Three dates will be required to appear on both the export certificate (MP) and shipping container label: namely: slaughter date, packaging date, and expiration date. The expiration date requirement (usually a “Use By” or “Best if Used By” date) currently applies only to further-processed, thermal-treated products, but is now being extended to fresh/frozen meat and variety meat.
- The new guidelines also require inspectors to check for the number of the slaughter plant on both the MP certificate and shipping container label. To date, the export certificate only includes the processing plant number, which is not always the same as that of the slaughter plant. Industry sources report that shipping container labels include several slaughter plant numbers, even for products processed and packaged in a single plant.
Mexico has announced that the new inspection procedures will be enforced effective April 25. Local trade representatives are concerned about potential problems in meeting these new requirements on such short notice, which may cause unnecessary delays and increase their handling and storage costs when export certificates and shipping container labels need to be corrected. USMEF-Mexico and USAPEEC have shared these concerns with the local trade and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico. USMEF will continue to closely monitor the situation and work with stakeholders, including USDA officials in Mexico, to seek further clarification and mitigate the potential negative impact on U.S. exports. Further updates will be provided as more information becomes available.