Importing animal products
GENERAL INFORMATION
If you are already familiar with these general information steps, click here for information on the IMPORT PERMIT.
The Brazilian requirements for the importation of animal products are defined by article 486 of Decree #9.013 of March 29th, 2017. According to this article, importation shall only be authorized when products comply with the following:
1. They come from countries whose health inspection system has been assessed or recognized as equivalent by the Department of Inspection of Animal Products (DIPOA);
2. They come from establishments eligible to export to Brazil;
3. The have been previously registered by DIPOA;
4. They are labeled in accordance with the specific legislation; and
5. They are accompanied by a health certificate issued by the competent authority in the country of origin, under the terms agreed bilaterally.
The procedures for recognizing health inspection systems and the eligibility of foreign establishments, authorization of imports, reinspection, checking and transit of imported animal products are regulated by Normative Instruction no. 34, dated September 25, 2018 and by Normative Instruction no. 35, dated September 25, 2018.
On this page you will find information on the procedures and steps of the process for the recognition of equivalence of foreign inspection systems, on how to make foreign establishments eligible, on the list of countries and products eligible to export to Brazil, on the health requirements of imports and some additional guidelines related to the imports of animal products.
The Assessment and Recognition of the Equivalence of Foreign Inspection Systems
The procedures for assessing and recognizing the equivalence of foreign inspection systems in order to gain access to the Brazilian market for imports of animal products include the assessment of the risks inherent to animal health and public health, which vary in accordance with the nature of the products to be exported and the country of origin.
Only countries or regions of countries with no diseases considered hazards to Brazilian animal health safety can initiate the process of assessment and recognition of equivalence of their health inspection system, with the purpose of enabling the export of animal products to Brazil.
The process of assessment and recognition of equivalence comprises steps of document evaluation, on-site assessment and negotiation of health certificates. For didactic purposes, the process of equivalence assessment may be divided into the following main steps:
- Official reply[1] of the foreign country’s competent authority regarding their interest in exporting animal products to Brazil, stating the animal area and the products or categories of products[2] to be exported;
- The competent authority of the foreign country presents its answers to the specific technical questionnaires [3];
- The Department of Animal Health (DSA) evaluates the request in order to check technical impediments or restrictions from the perspective of animal health and definition of applicable health requirements;
- Document-based check by the Department of Inspection of Animal Products (DIPOA) regarding the organization of the country’s health inspection system from the perspective of public health; this check, if necessary, can be performed by the laboratories, residues and contaminants and livestock supplies sectors;
- Organization and realization of official veterinary missions to the foreign country and further adjustments to reply to the report; and
- If the previous procedures conclude that there are no technical and/or health impediments, export-specific certificates templates shall be negotiated, and the country will be notified of the opening of the market and procedures for eligibility of the establishments.
[1] According to Article 4 of Normative Instruction no. 35, dated September 25, 2018, the beginning of the health negotiations must be formalized by the official diplomatic channels.
[2] According to Article 4, sole paragraph, of Normative Instruction 35, dated September 25, 2018, product categories shall be reported on the basis of the technology processes to which the products are submitted and their relation to the treatments to mitigate risks to animal health or public health.
[3] According to Article 3, sole paragraph, of Normative Instruction no. 35, dated September 25, 2018, the technical questionnaires will be prepared by the competent technical departments of the Secretariat of Animal and Plant Health (SDA), comprising animal health and inspection of animal products and, when necessary, livestock supplies, laboratories and residues and contaminants.
Official Veterinary Audits and Further Negotiations
Once the document-based check has been completed, the Division for International Audits (DIAI/CGCOA) will organize an official veterinary mission to perform an on-site assessment of the foreign inspection system.
Preliminary draft reports on the foreign missions will be written within 60 (sixty) days of the end of the mission, and will be made available for comments by the competent health authority of the foreign country, and for compliance with the recommendations for the same period of time.
After analyzing the comments and actions taken by the foreign country, the final mission report will be drafted within 30 (thirty) days, and will be published by the Department of Inspection of Animal Products (DIPOA) on MAPA's website.
Once the missions have been completed and the actions taken by the health authorities of the foreign country have been deemed satisfactory in complying with the official recommendations, the process will be submitted to the Division for Equivalence Evaluation (DEQ/CGCOA) for conclusion of the assessment of the request to open the market and, if approved, negotiations on exports health certificates to be used.
In addition to the assessment and equivalence recognition mission, DIPOA will perform audits on the countries with recognized equivalence and eligible establishments on a regular basis in order to make sure the approved conditions have been maintained.
Methods of Listing Foreign Establishments
The methods in which foreign establishments are listed are defined by Article 10 of Normative Instruction no. 35, dated September 25, 2018. Eligibility may be granted as follows:
1. Veterinary Mission (plant by plant eligibility): Consists of mandatory individual visits to the interested establishments by means of official Brazilian veterinary mission; or
2. Indication by the Foreign Health Authority ("pre-listing"): When the health authority of the foreign country may refer interested establishments for subsequent ratification by the Department of Inspection of Animal Products (DIPOA) and establishments may be exempted from advance visits.
The way of listing each country already eligible to export to Brazil is indicated in the table in the topic of countries eligible to export animal products to Brazil on this page.
WAREHOUSES / STORAGE ESTABLISHMENTS LISTING METHOD
Both the manufacturing establishment and the storage establishment/warehouses must be authorized to export to Brazil.
Storage establishment/warehouses must have a control/registration number and must be indicated by the Official Service of the exporting country in order to be authorized by MAPA in Brazil (Indication by the Foreign Health Authority).
That is, there is no need to carry out an on-site audit to qualify this type of establishment, regardless of the type of authorization in the country (plant by plant or indication).
The area referring to the products to be exported by the storage establishment/warehouses must be enabled, according to the spreadsheet of Countries Authorized to Export Animal Products to Brazil and modes of approval (example: beef, milk, honey, gelatin, etc.).
No type of manipulation of the products is allowed in these establishments, such as changing packaging, or any type of procedure to reach the temperature of the products, such as cooling or freezing. That is, the products must arrive at the establishments ready to be stored, loaded and shipped.
The control/registration number of the storage establishment/warehouses must appear on the international health certificate (CSI), as well as the control/registration number of the manufacturing establishments, in order to maintain traceability, allowing better control in the internalization of these products in Brazil.
Extension of the Equivalence Scope
In accordance with Article 11 of Normative Instruction 35, dated September 25, 2018, a country whose health inspection system has been recognized as equivalent to the Brazilian system for a certain area or animal species may request an extension of the recognition to other areas or animal species. To that end, it must supplement the information in the specific technical questionnaire(s) with information on the production chain to be included.
If the document-based check for extending the recognition of the health inspection system is favorable, DIPOA may exempt the country from a prior mission and provisionally grant the extension of the scope of equivalence to new animal area, thus allowing the importation of products. In this case, the on-site assessment will be postponed until the next Brazilian mission to the country to ensure continuation of the approved conditions, as stated by Article 11, Paragraph 1, of Normative Instruction 35, dated September 25, 2018.
It is important to mention that a mission will only be waived when the activities of animal product inspection in the new areas or animal species are performed by the same competent agency or institution of the country of origin already recognized as equivalent to the Brazilian one and if there are no zoosanitary restrictions to the request.
Products with a Low Health Risk
Normative Instruction no. 35, dated September 25, 2018, states in Article 8, Sole Paragraph, that imports of animal products with a low public health and animal health risk may be exempted from an advance visit to assess foreign establishments, if the result of the analysis of the technical questionnaires is favorable. In these cases, the export of such products may be exclusively authorized on the basis of a check of documents and negotiation of the health certificate templates for the new products.
The following products are currently considered to entail a low public health and animal health risk and may be authorized to be exported to Brazil based on a document check:
- Salted and/or dry natural casings; and
- Edible gelatin and collagen.
Suspension of Exports to Brazil
Article 18 of Normative Instruction no. 35, dated September 25, 2018 defines cases in which the importation of animal products from already-authorized countries may be entirely or partially suspended as described below:
1. The exporting country is affected by diseases that pose risks to animal health;
2. A Brazilian official mission finds that the health inspection system of the foreign country or the hygiene and sanitary standards of the establishments and their products have been compromised;
3. Violations of Brazilian legislation are detected on the reinspection of imported animal products;
4. When the health authorities of the country of origin fail to take corrective and preventive actions for the detected violations, or to inform Brazil of them; or
5. When the health authorities of the country of origin fail to produce the information requested by Brazil.
Health Certificates for Exporting to Brazil
Health certificates for exporting to Brazil cover specific public health requirements defined by the Department of Inspection of Animal Products (DIPOA/SDA) and animal health requirements, defined by the Department of Animal Health (DSA/SDA). The templates of the certificates shall be agreed upon bilaterally before exports to Brazil begin.
Refer to general information on health requirements for the importation of animal products to Brazil in the specific topic on this page. However, it is important to mention that as a result of health negotiations, document-based checking, and on-site findings by the Brazilian mission to the foreign country, additional health requirements may be laid down in order to preserve the identity and the safety of the products to be exported to Brazil.
On the occasion of the negotiation of the health certificate for exporting animal products to Brazil, the exporting country shall submit, along with the health certificate proposed, information on the authenticity elements[1] that will be present on the export health certificate to Brazil. The authenticity elements of the certification will be disclosed to the country’s points of entry, together with the templates of the certificates that have been negotiated.
[1] Authenticity elements: The elements and/or the characteristics that are usually present on the export certificates issued by the foreign country. They allow the Brazilian Official Service to check at points of entry in Brazil that the sanitary documents produced are authentic documents.
Examples of authenticity elements: Use of special paper with additional safety measures (as with paper currency); specific stamp templates; safety codes; specifications of marks or symbols of the official authorities (i.e. coat of arms), etc.
Health Requirements for Importing
The public health requirements applicable to the export of edible animal products are available below, according to the product and/or product category of interest.
- Poultry meat, and poultry meat products
- Meat and meat products of bovine, ovine and caprine
- Pork meat, and pork meat products
- Lagomorph meat, and lagomorph meat products
- Natural casings
- Edible gelatine and collagen
- Milk and dairy products
- Honey and bees products
- Eggs and egg products
- Fish and fishery products from wild fisheries
- Fish and fishery products from aquaculture
Questions on the aforementioned public health requirements or queries about the public health requirements applicable to other edible animal products not included in the list above should be submitted to the Division for Equivalence Evaluation (DEQ/CGCOA) at dieq.dipoa@agro.gov.br.
Consultation on health requirements for edible animal products and on international health certificates to export these products to Brazil can be carried out directly in the Panel of Requirements for Importing Products of Animal Origin.
Questions about the animal health requirements applicable to the exportation of animal products to Brazil may be submitted directly to the Federal Superintendence of Agriculture in the States (SFA/UF).
Templates of Technical Questionnaires
One can find bellow the models of technical questionnaires for the evaluation of inspection services for animal origin products for human consumption, to be answered by the health authorities of the countries interested in exporting to Brazil or of the exporting countries aiming to maintain the equivalence of the Inspection.
For gelatin/collagen, the meat and meat products questionnaire should be used.
All information should preferably be sent in Portuguese, however questionnaires answered in English or Spanish will also be accepted. These templates are available at the links below:
- Meat and meat products questionnaire
Countries Authorized to Export Animal Products to Brazil
The updated list of countries authorized to export animal products to Brazil is available in the file below.
Countries Authorized to Export Animal Products to Brazil and modes of approval
The table comprises a list of all the countries authorized to export to Brazil, listing eligible products and/or product categories, per animal area, and the approvals of these establishments.
Countries not included in the table above are not authorized to export to Brazil any animal products subject to inspection by the Department of Inspection of Animal Products (DIPOA).
Additional Information
Registration of Animal Products
Information on the procedure for the registration of imported animal products and about the related legislation is available on the Product Registration - Labeling page.
Questions on these procedures should be submitted to the Division for Records and Registrations (DREP/CGI) at drep.dipoa@agro.gov.br.
Eligibility of Foreign Establishments to Export to Brazil
Brazil published procedures whereby foreign health authorities can update the registration and/or add new establishments through the communication G/SPS/N/BRA/1184/Add.2/Corr.3. It is important that the lists are submitted in “searchable” electronic format so as to minimize the chances of errors when establishments are being registered.
Requests to update register and/or add establishments should be submitted though the official diplomatic channels.
Click here for the lists of foreign establishments approved to export to Brazil.
Questions about foreign establishments listed to export to Brazil, the eligibility procedures for foreign establishments, identification of errors in the registration of eligible plants or any additional information related to the topic should be submitted to the Division for Approval and Certification (DHC/CGI), at dhc.dipoa@agro.gov.br.
Permit for Import of Animal Products
The Appendix of MAPA Normative Instruction no. 51, dated November 4, 2011 lists cases when advance agreement by the Department of Inspection of Animal Products (DIPOA) is necessary for importing animal products.
However, the importation of several products and/or raw materials obtained from animal tissue is not subject to the import procedures established by Normative Instruction 34, dated September 25, 2018. In these cases, the import procedures and import health requirements are defined by the Department of Animal Health (DSA). Among the main products are:
- Animal skins (fresh, salted or treated) and hides (semi-finished, finished, tanned, others);
- Animal bile (preserved or concentrated);
- Hooves, horns, and their products;
- Organs or organ extracts not intended for food (e.g.: raw material for opotherapeutic and laboratory purposes);
- Animal casings and serosae not intended for food (e.g..: manufacturing of strings for music instruments, surgical sutures or rackets);
- Animal glue.
Information on procedures for prior authorization to import products of animal origin and operationalization of the Import Alert Regime (RAI) for products of animal origin can be found here.