Export Requirements by Country and Jurisdiction (G-M)

Guatemala

Certification Requirements

Fish and fish products exported to Guatemala require a Guatemala Export Health Certificate.

Exporters should contact the issuing authority for United States, USDC NOAA Seafood Inspection Program, prior to export to arrange certification.

Neither facility registration for Guatemala, nor USDC Approved Establishment status is required to obtain certification.

Hong Kong

Acts and Regulations

Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Safe Food and Public Health

Tolerances or Guidelines

Environmental Contaminants - Maximum level permitted in applicable fish products

The following hormones are prohibited for use in all fish products: dienoestrol, diethylstilboestrol, hexoestrol and oestradiol.

Fish products exported to Hong Kong cannot contain preservatives or antioxidants unless specified in the following table.

Preservatives which are permitted in the Following Fishery Products only

For further information please contact the importer/client in Hong Kong. Further details on the restrictions concerning the sale of food containing preservatives or antioxidants are available from the Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department

Certification Requirements - None specified.

Iceland

India

Certification Requirements - None specified.

Indonesia

Certification Requirements

A Health Certificate for fishery products intended for human consumption exported to the Republic of Indonesia is required for each consignment. Exporters should contact the issuing authority for United States, USDC NOAA Seafood Inspection Program, prior to export to make arrangements to obtain certification.

Iraq

Acts and Regulations - None specified.

Tolerances and Guidelines - None specified.

Certification Requirements

Certification is not required; however, USDC can provide General Health Export Certificate and Fish Certificate of Origin.

Israel

Jamaica

Acts and Regulations

Canned fish is subject to product specifications under the processed-food law.

Labeling and Marking Standards:

• Processed fishery products are subject to labeling and marking requirements. Every container of processed food must bear a code showing the date on which the food was packed, the process batch, the name of the processor and the place in which it was processed. Common names must be used in reference to spices, flavorings and colorings, as well as quantity, by weight or volume, of food ingredients. Letters used in labeling should be a prescribed size in relation to the size of the container.

Further information regarding these requirements may be obtained from:

Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Tourism

Kingston, Jamaica.

Tolerances or Guidelines

Radioactivity content must be below the following maximum levels:

• Cesium - 150 Bq/kg
• Strontium - 150 Bq/kg
• Iodine 131 - 40 Bq/kg

Certification Requirements - None specified.

Certification requirements

Beginning July 2, 2020, US exporters to Japan are required to obtain a specialized Health Certificate for exports of live raw oysters intended for human consumption. Based upon the 1962 bilateral shellfish agreement and Japan’s Food Sanitation Law which evaluates oyster management programs in the US on a state by state basis, Oysters from Oregon, Washington, Connecticut and New York are eligible for export to Japan. The specialized certificate is only intended for use with live raw oyster shipments harvested from Oregon, Washington, Connecticut and New York. The specific Harvest/Growing State and Location information must be provided in Box I.28 of the export health certificate. The ICSSL approval number must be included in box I.28 under manufacturing plant. 

U.S exporters of cooked Crab are required to obtain a Legal Harvest Certificate for exports of US or foreign harvested consignments. Shippers of foreign sourced product are required to provide valid documentation from country of origin to receive legal harvest certification.

Exports of live raw oysters require an export health certificate to enter Japan. Based upon the 1962 bilateral shellfish agreement and Japan’s Food Sanitation Law which evaluates oyster management programs in the US on a state by state basis, Oysters from Oregon, Washington, Connecticut and New York are eligible for export to Japan.  The specific harvest/growing State and location information must be provided in Box I.28 of the export health certificate. The ICSSL approval number must be included in box I.28. This certificate is intended to certify live raw oysters harvested from Oregon, Washington, Connecticut and New York.

In addition to certificate issuance, for each consignment, USDC Inspection staff will submit an attached copy of the issued certificate to the Japanese authorities via the following email address:

kani-import@meti.go.jp

General Requirements for the export of live (Homarus americanus) lobsters and lobster products containing tomalley to Japan

This document applies to exporters who ship live lobsters and lobster products containing tomalley to Japan. Japan has a standard for PSP in the hepatopancreas of lobsters of 80 µg/100g and tests imported lobsters to verify compliance with Japanese Food Sanitation Law. The following sets out the requirements for a plan to manage shipments of lobsters to markets requiring enhanced controls for PSP in lobster hepatopancreas.

The NOAA Seafood Inspection Program (SIP) is the authority that will issue an export health certificate if one is required.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the federal authority charged with determination of the acceptability of seafood for human consumption. Federal regulations do not permit food that is not fit for human consumption to be exported without very specific conditions including the agreement of the receiving country.

Firms must participate in the NOAA Seafood Inspection Program (SIP) as Quality Management Program (QMP) Approved Establishments.  Controls of top management, food safety, plant hygiene, quality management, documentation and records, and corrective action are described in the SIP Manual under Policies, Procedures, and Requirements for the Approval of Facilities and Systems.

A PSP Control Plan must be put in place by the firm to check lobsters for the presence of PSP. Testing and monitoring may be performed by the exporter or by a third party. The firm’s procedures must clearly specify what is being tested or monitored, how, at what frequency, and by whom. The frequency must be sufficient to control shipments to satisfy the importing country´s PSP standard.

The procedures for PSP control in lobsters should consider factors, such as, but not limited to:

• the size of the lobster harvest area and variations in the occurrence of PSP throughout the harvest area;
• historical knowledge and other sources of information about the occurrence of PSP in lobsters from the lobster harvest area;
• migration patterns;
• changing conditions that would indicate an increased probability in the occurrence of PSP in a lobster harvest area or portion of the lobster harvest area; and
• the capacity to segregate lobsters from different parts of the lobster harvest area.

Exporters may wish to consider arrangements with other parties to enhance their knowledge about PSP and lobsters as part of their efforts for continuous improvement of their testing procedures.

PSP Control Plan Requirements

Each participating firm must provide a PSP control plan which provides a full description of the type of lobsters being exported:

• The primary method of preservation (e.g., fresh/live, frozen, canned), the form (e.g., live, whole, meat, tomalley) and any other secondary processing (cooked);
• The origin of lobsters that specifies at a minimum, the date of harvest and the harvest area;
• The identity of the establishment(s) where the lobsters were stored, processed, and packaged with confirmation that the establishment(s) operated with a Quality Management Program Plan or equivalent in compliance with the SIP program requirements; and
• Traceability by the firm to be able to effectively halt or recall the shipment (working with SIP) if a problem occurs after shipping.

The plan must provide a full description of the controls for incoming live lobsters to ensure that they were harvested, handled and transported to the establishment under sanitary conditions.

The plan must describe the process to control each list before shipping to verify that it will meet the importing country’s standard for PSP. This control must include testing to check lobsters for the presence or absence of PSP. Testing may be performed by the exporter or by a third party. The testing procedures must clearly specify what is being tested, how it is being tested, at wheat frequency, and by whom. The frequency must be sufficient to control shipments to satisfy the importing country’s PSP standard.

Exporters may supplement product testing with additional controls. Examples may include, but are not limited to, checking:

• documents regarding the origin of incoming lobsters to verify that they are complete and accurate; or
• quantities and description of incoming lobsters to verify that they correspond to accompanying documents.

Any supplemental controls and supporting documentation must be listed in the firm’s control plan and submitted to SIP.

The objective of this control is to provide exporters with the means to continuously gather and review information about the levels of PSP in lobsters in order to prevent the shipment of lobsters with unacceptable levels of PSP. The assessment and control strategy will be provided to the SIP for tracking purposes. 

Corrective actions must include steps to notify SIP of any consignments of lobsters that are refused entry into the importing country because they exceeded the PSP standard. Corrective actions must also include procedures to segregate lobsters that do not meet an importing country’s requirement and records that document these corrective actions and any changes to the control plan.

While under the control of the exporter, consignments are transported and stored under secure conditions to prevent product loss or substitution.

Designation and Control of Harvest Areas

Most harvest areas for lobsters are within the control of the State authority with some Federal permits issued for lobster harvest.  The respective State will make the determination as to area designation and acceptability of harvest in waters under State control.  SIP, in consultation with FDA will monitor the applicable Federal waters. SIP will periodically monitor State waters if necessary, especially in those cases where the State program for designation of harvest area requires augmentation.

Acceptability of harvest will be determined using appropriate PSP testing and opening/closing criteria. If a harvest area has been closed for molluscan shellfish harvesting due to PSP, a known harmful algal bloom, or other evidence the lobsters may be affected, product from that area will not be certified. Any State or federal closures for these concerns (biotoxins) are consolidated on our website at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/seafood-commerce-certification/fishery-closures-state

SIP will periodically monitor lobster harvest areas by taking samples and testing for PSP. Testing for monitoring by SIP (or the State if they perform the monitoring) will be on the body, the edible meat, and the hepatopancreas to provide the maximum data possible for risk assessment. If this testing indicates a problematic harvest area, the lobsters from this area will not be certified for export.

Verification

SIP will audit the firm’s procedures, including their PSP control as well as any affects from the chain of custody.  SIP will review all records of the firm’s PSP Control Plan and any appropriate information from the State authority during this audit including a back tracing of any certificates issued from the previous audit.

Official samples may be taken from the same lots for export simultaneous to those taken and tested by the firm as a means of confirmation of process. If lot testing indicates the levels of PSP exceed acceptable limits, the lot will not be certified.  In addition the system will be evaluated to determine the firm’s continued capability to remain listed for shipment.

Tolerances and Guidelines

• Total mercury - 0.4 ppm (does not apply to tuna or sturgeon, fish oils, gelatin or other fish by-products)
• Methyl mercury - 0.3 ppm (does not apply to tuna or sturgeon, fish oils, gelatin or other fish by-products)
• PCB - 0.5 ppm (does not apply to fish oils, gelatin or other fish by-products)

Acts and Regulations

Product Specification Standards/Labeling & Marketing Standards/Packaging Standards:

• no special regulations
• weights & measures: metric system

Tolerances or Guidelines

Certification Requirements

All fishery products must, before entering Kenya, be lot inspected for health and quality conditions and must be accompanied by an Export Health Certificate proving this inspection has been undertaken.

Certification Requirements

Beginning April 9, 2017 Live farmed aquatic animals, frozen/chilled Abalone, frozen/chilled Oyster’s require a Health Certificate. Normal inspection procedures apply to these fishery products, e.g. lot inspection, in-plant inspection or a current HACCP QMP system.

Beginning April 1, 2018 Live wild aquatic animals and frozen/chilled shrimp require a Health Certificate. Normal inspection procedures apply to these fishery products, e.g. lot inspection, in-plant inspection or a current HACCP QMP system.

All other fresh/frozen products do not require a certificate; however, ROK does have a pre- registration requirement. For normal (non-by-product) fishery products: Ministry of Food and Drug Safety: MFDS requires mandatory pre-registration process for overseas manufacturing facilities via MFDS system (https://impfood.mfds.go.kr/) by either an importer or an exporter 7 days before the import declaration. 

The Republic of Korea (ROK) requires Export Health Certificates for by-products including frozen cod heads, tuna heads, southern hake heads, visceral by-products such as edible fish roe, Pollock entrails, hard roe and the nidamental gland of squid.

Normal inspection procedures apply to these by-products, e.g. lot inspection, in-plant inspection or a current HACCP QMP system. All frozen fish heads must be cut so the head with pectoral and ventral fins are attached and the frozen edible parts, e.g. meat from the neck, lower jaw and cheek, are included. Cod heads must be of U.S. origin, caught in the Pacific (Gadus microcephalus)

ROK also requires that U.S. exporters be on a list of approved facilities. Facilities shipping fisheries by-products to ROK must be Approved Establishments in the Seafood Inspection Program and must appear on the ROK Approved Shippers List. If you are interested in being placed on the ROK Approved Shippers List please contact Consumer Safety Officer HQ staff at Jenny.Stephenson@noaa.gov or 301-427-8307.

Kosovo

Acts and Regulations - None specified.

Tolerances and Guidelines - None specified.

Certification Requirements

Certification is not required; however, USDC can provide General Health Export Certificate and Fish Certificate of Origin.

Certification Requirements

Each shipment of fish and seafood products exported to Kuwait must be accompanied by the following two certificates:

• Export Health Certificate for the export of fish and fish products for human consumption
• Certificate of Origin

Liechtenstein

As a country which has signed the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement, Liechtenstein has adopted the certification and import requirements in place for the European Union (EU). Consult the European Union certification requirements for certification of product exported to Iceland.

NOAA SIP Guidelines for the Export of Fishery Products to EFTA Countries

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is an intergovernmental organization set up for the promotion of free trade and economic integration to the benefit of its four Member States: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland.

Guidance on the completion of the model health certificate for imports of fishery products intended for human consumption to EFTA countries.

The following guidance is provided to assist with the completion of the model health certificate for imports of fishery products intended for human consumption as laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 2074/2005(1) as amended.

It incorporates the notes for guidance listed on the certificate itself and the explanatory notes found in Commission Decision 2007/240/EC (2).

In addition, guidance has been obtained from the texts of the international standard- setting body Codex Alimentarius. In the Guidelines for Design, Production, Issuance and Use of Generic Official Certificates (CAC/GL 38-2001(3) issued by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (4), replacement certificates are foreseen for certain administrative corrections or if the certificates were lost or damaged.

All certification should be done via the NOAA SIP online certificate system. Only as an option when the system is down or unavailable, a PDF version is used. The directions below are guidance for both the system completion and the PDF certification for information required in fields located on the documents.

Certifying officers must verify that all firms that handled, processed or stored the product and its ingredients are listed as current approved shippers to the E.U.

US Facilities should appear on the European Union Approved list at the following link: 

https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/sanco/traces/output/US/FFP_US_en.pdf

Certifying  officers  should  verify  that  all  foreign  sourced  material  should  be  from manufacturing facilities listed at the following link:

https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/sanco/traces/output/non_eu_listsPerCountry_en.htm

The certificate must be issued before the consignment to which it relates leaves the control of the competent authority of the country of dispatch. Therefore the health certificate must be issued after all the products in the consignment have been produced but before the consignment leaves the country, ideally when the product leaves the dispatch establishment.

The original version of the certificate must accompany consignments on entry into EFTA country (original signature of an authorized officer, the name in capital letters, the qualification and title, and original stamp of the competent authority).

The EFTA countries have elected to use the EU model health certificate with public and animal health attestations. All intentions of the attestations must be met including Approved Facility listings and raw material sourcing requirements.

Macau

Tolerances or Guidelines - None Specified.

Certification Requirements - None specified.

Certification Requirements

• Each shipment of fish and seafood exported to Macedonia must be accompanied by the EU Health certificate
• United Sates registered establishments must be approved for export to the European Union (EU) and must be on the list of United States establishments approved to export fish and seafood products to the European Union.

Other Information

Tolerances or Guidelines - None Specified.

Internet sites for information on exports to Macedonia: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and Agency for Food and Veterinary Macedonia.

Certification Requirements

Each shipment of fish and seafood products exported to Malaysia must be accompanied by Export Health certificate and Certificate of Origin.

Acts and Regulations

Ministry of Trade and Industrial Development

Mexican Official Standard BILL

Regulations of the General Health Law on the Control of Activities, Establishments, Products and Services (Official Gazette ofJanuary 18, 1988):

• NOM-030-SSA1-1993 (Goods and services. Fish products, Canned crustaceans, Sanitary specifications)
• NOM-002-SSA1-1993 (Goods and services. Metal containers for foods and beverages, Specifications for seams, Health requirements)
• NOM-030-PESC-2000 Compulsory Mexican Standard (Establishing requirements for detecting the presence of viral diseases in crustaceans) (Official Gazette of January 23, 2002)

Labeling

All labels on prepackaged products (excluding bulk) must appear in Spanish and must be at least the same size as those in other languages.

All labels must indicate the:

• name and address of the importer as well as the name and address of the packer;
• name and description of the product;
• country of origin;
• package weight or volume;
• ingredients; and
• instructions for use.

The expiry date of prepackaged products must be indicated with the words "Expiry date_____" "Expiry_____ " or "Exp. date_____" followed by the corresponding date.

Chilled product labels must also indicate:

• the lot number;
• the day, month, year of processing; and
• the statement "Refrigerate at a maximum of 4°C" or "Keep refrigerated".

Frozen product labels must also indicate:

• the lot number;
• the day, month, year of processing;
• the percentage and name of the food additives used in the final product;
• the statement "Freeze at a maximum temperature of -18°C" or "Keep frozen"; and
• the statement "Do not re-freeze once product has been defrosted"

Canned product labels must also indicate:

• the code number to identify the product, manufacturing date (year/month/day) and lot number.

Exporters should consult with their importers for further details concerning Mexican labeling requirements.

Cartons of molluscan shellfish (fresh, refrigerated or frozen) must indicate:

• the date of harvest and area of harvest; and
• lot number, day/month and year processed.

Tolerances or Guidelines

Food in lead-soldered cans is not permitted.

Fresh-chilled and frozen product:

• Parasites: 2 parasites/kg of sample unit
• Foreign matter: none

Salted fish must either:

1. have a moisture content of 40% or less (maximum 40% humidity); or
2. have a salt (NaCl) content of 20% or more (minimum of 20% NaCl) based on the wet weight of the product.

Salted fish which does not meet this standard may be further tested for microbiological contaminants and if found to be unsatisfactory, could be rejected.

Chemical:

• Ammoniacal Nitrogen: 30 mg/100 g

Fresh-chilled and frozen product and canned crustaceans:

Heavy Metals:

• Cadmium (Cd): 0.5 ppm
• Mercury (Hg): 1.0 ppm
• Mercury: canned crustaceans: 0.5 ppm (as methyl mercury)
• Lead (Pb): 1.0 ppm
• Tin (Sn): canned goods: 100.0 ppm

Radioactivity (not for canned goods):

• Cesium 134 & Cesium 137: 370 Bq/kg
• Iodine 131: 70 Bq/kg

Food Additives:

The following food additives are permitted for frozen fish:

• Potassium ascorbate: 1.0 ppm (expressed as acid)
• Sodium ascorbate: 1.0 ppm (expressed as acid)

Moisture retainers:

• Tribasic calcium phosphate: 5.0 ppm (expressed as P2O5 alone or combined)
• Tetrapotassic pyrophosphate: 5.0 ppm (expressed as P2O5 alone or combined)
• Tetrasodic pyrophosphate: 5.0 ppm (expressed as P2O5 alone or combined)
• Sodium polyphosphate: 5.0 ppm (expressed as P2O5 alone or combined)
• Monopotassic phosphate: 5.0 ppm (expressed as P2O5 alone or combined)
• Monosodic phosphate: 5.0 ppm (expressed as P2O5 alone or combined)

The following food additives are permitted in canned crustaceans with a maximum level indicative of good manufacturing practices:

pH regulators:

• Citric acid
• Phosphoric acid
• Sodium pyrophosphate

Flavour enhancers:

• Monosodium glutamate

Humidity retainers:

• Disodium pyrophosphate

Certification

Each shipment of fish and seafood products exported to Mexico must be accompanied by Export Health certificate and Commodity Specific Certificate of Origin.

Acts and Regulations

Fishery products must be in compliance with the requirements of the sanitary regulations of the European Union.

Tolerances and Guidelines - None specified.

Certification Requirements - None specified.

For countries A-F

For countries N-Z

For Foreign Approved Lists