U.S. Packaging and Inspection Requirements for Imported Poultry Meat_x000D_

In recent years, the consumption of poultry meat in the United States has increased year by year. At present, the annual consumption of poultry meat in the United States reaches more than 2.8 million tons, of which about 1.3 million tons are imported, accounting for 46% of the total consumption. As the export of European livestock products has been affected by the epidemic in recent years, the import of livestock and poultry products from the United States has turned more to Asia, which has brought good opportunities for my country's poultry meat export. However, relevant experts believe that since the poultry meat entering the US market must be produced in accordance with the same requirements as the US standards, this puts forward new requirements for the production, packaging, inspection, and sales of poultry meat. To occupy the US market, you must understand its relevant regulations.

First, poultry meat entering the U.S. must come from countries and facilities recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Quarantine Service (FSIS). Regardless of which country wants to qualify for poultry exports to the United States, FSIS evaluates that country's inspection system to ensure that poultry meat is safe, hygienic, and correctly labeled. The assessment work generally consists of two parts, namely document review and on-site inspection. The document review is conducted by technical experts to evaluate the relevant laws, regulations and other written materials of the applicant country, focusing on five critical areas of danger, namely pollution, disease, processing, residues and law-abiding operations. If the document is approved, FSIS will send a team of technical experts to conduct a site visit to evaluate five key areas and other aspects of the inspection system, including the plant's equipment, facilities, laboratories, training programs, and the plant's inspection efforts. If FSIS determines that the country's inspection system is basically equivalent to that of the United States, the country may be eligible to export poultry meat to the United States.

In addition, FSIS recognizes poultry meat and its packaging labels entering the U.S. market. Approved export factories should obtain labelling standards before producing products for export. Labels must be printed in English and labeled in accordance with U.S. product composition and labeling regulations. In general, the label should include the product name, country of origin, factory or wholesaler name, net weight in pounds and ounces, the state of preservation of the various ingredients, etc. Labels on the outside of a product's bulk box do not have to be licensed, but FSIS will inspect the labels on the outer packaging when it is inspected at the port of entry. Therefore, the front label on the outside of the box must have the product name, country of origin, factory code, arrival terminal, etc., and leave a certain position for the US import inspection and stamping. In addition, the special handling status must be marked on the outside of the box, and the name and address of the export factory or importer must be marked. All contents must be printed on the outside of the box in English or affixed to the outside of the box in the form of labels, and must not be replaced by handwriting.

When the goods arrive at the US port, the customs declaration form must be submitted to the local customs within 5 working days. According to FSIS regulations, poultry meat and its products need to be sent to the customs together with two kinds of tickets: one is the exporting country inspection certificate, which should indicate the exporting country, manufacturer, destination port (terminal) and quantity, and prove that the product has passed through the exporting country. The inspection agency conducts pre-slaughter and post-slaughter inspections, and ensures that the products are safe and hygienic, free from adulteration, and correctly marked, in line with U.S. regulations; the second is the import inspection application report form, which will be sent to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency (APHIS) after customs review. ), review for violations of U.S. animal and plant health restrictions. When the information shows that they are in compliance with the regulations of the customs and APHIS, the documents will be sent to the FSIS Import Inspection Office (IFO) that performs the inspection at the import port, and the content of the inspection application form will be input into the FSIS central computer system, namely the Automatic Import Information System (AIIS). , AIIS automatically searches the memory database to determine whether the country, the plant, and the product are eligible to export poultry meat or meat products to the United States. When it is determined to be acceptable for FSIS inspection, AIIS will propose an inspection plan for the batch of products based on the quality history of a certain product in the country and the factory, and the final inspection result will also be input into AIIS to establish the inspection quality of the factory in the country. file.

Inspections indicated by AIIS include inspection of retail packaging and net weight, inspection of packaging containers, inspection of product defects, inspection of heat preservation of cans, inspection of labels, etc. Products that pass the inspection will be stamped with the "official inspection" stamp on the outer packaging label of each box, and enter the domestic market of the United States. When the goods do not meet U.S. regulations, a "No Entry into the U.S." stamp is stamped on the outside of the box, and the goods must be exported, destroyed or approved for animal food within 45 days.

It should be noted that FSIS also regularly conducts follow-up inspections of the inspection systems of countries that have obtained export qualifications. The frequency of inspections depends on the production and product quality of the exporting countries. Generally, the newly approved exporting countries are inspected every 3 months; if the factory production, equipment, and inspection are in good condition, and the quality of the exported poultry meat meets the standards, the inspection will be conducted every 6 months in the second year to ensure safety and hygiene. In order to protect the healthy development of the livestock and poultry industry in the United States, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency of the USDA strictly restricts the entry of animals and related products from countries or regions with animal epidemics into the United States. Countries with foot-and-mouth disease have banned the export of chilled and frozen meat to the United States, in order to prevent the disease as much as possible, prevent the introduction of the disease, and protect the health of humans and animals.