Exporting animal products

What is veterinary export certification?

It is the assurance by the relevant role-players in the exporting country to the relevant role-players in the importing country that the animal or product complies with the requirements of the importing country.

 The following principles apply:

• The importing country makes the rule
• The exporting country must comply
• Certification must be accurate

The legal parameters for veterinary export certification are set by national legislation in the form of:

• The Animal Diseases Act (Act 35 of 1984) and the related published Regulations
• The Meat Safety Act (Act 40 of 2000) with the Red Meat Regulation published on 17 September 2004
• The Veterinary and Para-Veterinary Professions Act (Act 19 of 1982)
• The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996).
• Veterinary Procedural Notices (VPNs) are created based on relevant legislation and cover the practical execution of state veterinary functions. The main VPN applicable in this context is Veterinary Procedural Notice (VPN-2002-17) Principles of Certification. Other VPNs may apply to different commodities i.e. VPN04 for registration of ostrich holdings for export purposes.

Requirements for export certification of products

• An import permit from the country you wish to export to. These are usually issued by the Department of Agriculture in the relevant country.
• All production facilities in the chain (including cold stores) must be registered to export –they must have a ‘ZA’ approval number.
• Product must be traceable through all production facilities in the production chain.
• Where required by the importing country the animals from which the product is derived must be traceable to and originate from approved farms (compartments).
• The product must be handled in a suitable manner and this should be proven in some way.
• The products should be identified accurately enough to prevent the export of product with an unknown origin using the same documentation.
• Certain commodities need to be inspected by state veterinary officials before an export certificate can be signed. This is usually determined by the commodity but, can be a requirement of the certificate

Export and movement application forms

Registration of an export facility

Export certification can only be done for products originating from facilities specifically registered for this purpose with the Department of Agriculture.

You may only export animals or animal products if they come from premises that comply with international standards or the legislation of the importing country. These premises could be an approved abattoir, quarantine station, artificial insemination centre, embryo collection centre, farm, feedlot, food processing factory, food storage premises, etc.

How to obtain a ZA number

ZA application form