New licence for meat and poultry imports

Importers of all types of red meat or poultry products, which are not thermally treated, should obtain from March 1 a licence from the Ministry of Municipality and Environment’s (MME) livestock wealth department.
The new mechanism was adopted by the Joint Committee on Human Food Control to ensure that the supplying countries are free from any epidemic. Due to the current bird flu epidemic situation in Europe and Japan, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and the MME have called on importers red meat or poultry products to acquire a prior licence for any consignment from these countries in
particular.
The MoPH has issued a circular asking all ports and entry points to implement the new mechanism. Besides, circulars in this regard have been sent to the traders also.
The MoPH has also instructed the health offices at the entry points and ports to inform the importers about the new mechanism.
MoPH inspectors at the ports will ensure all the consignments are accompanied with the necessary licences, and they are safe and comply with the health conditions and standards before being
released finally.
The new mechanism aims at enhancing the safety of imported meat products, and facilitates smooth trade
transactions.
Import licences that take into consideration the epidemic situation at the source country, based on a unified reference for animal health, will be issued before starting the import process.