United States of America - Export requirements for milk and dairy products
Eligible/ineligible product
Eligible
- All dairy products
- "Grade A" milk products
- "Grade B" milk products
- Manufacturing grade milk and cream
- Finished dairy products
Pre-export approvals by the competent authority of the importing country
Product
- "Grade A" milk and milk products:
- The Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) - PDF (8.1 mb) of the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) serves as the basic milk sanitation standard for National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) members (all 50 states and Puerto Rico). The PMO is a code or guideline that individual state regulations are based on.
- Section 11 of the PMO prohibits the importation of "Grade A" milk and milk products from non-PMO jurisdictions unless it has been processed under regulations which are "substantially equivalent" to the PMO.
- Non "Grade A" milk and milk products:
- "Grade B" manufacturing grade milk and cream may be shipped into the US for further processing into ice cream, cheese etc. Finished dairy products such as cheese may also move into the US. Generally no certification is required.
Import Permit
- For certain products the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) require an import permit (VS Form 16-6A).
- Note: Different requirements exist for products depending on the end use: human consumption, or for use as animal/livestock feed.
- More information can be found in the APHIS Animal Product Manual - PDF (13.3 mb)
Product specifications
- The NCIMS Memoranda of Information (M-I), M-I-00-4: Importation of PMO Defined Dairy Products found at the US FDA website Coded Memoranda Issued by Milk Safety Branch provides further information.
- M-I-00-4 identifies three options available which would allow importation of "Grade A" milk and milk products into the USA:
- A dairy firm outside of the United States could contract with any current NCIMS member's regulatory/rating agency to provide the "Grade A" milk safety program in total. At this time this is the only option available to Canadian exporters wanting to ship "Grade A" products to the USA. In the past establishments wanting to ship had to find a state that would sponsor them. Recently the option for 3rd party certifiers has come into existence. See M-I-07-2: Selection of The Three Third Party Certifiers to Participate in the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments Voluntary International Certification Pilot Program for further information. No certification should be required for "Grade A" products moving to the USA when the processor is operating under this program.
- The importing country, or a political subdivision thereof, may become a full member of the NCIMS subject to all NCIMS rules and enjoying all privileges of a US state. Neither Canada nor any of its provinces are members of the NCIMS.
- US FDA can evaluate the importing country's system of assuring the safety of dairy products and compare the effect of that system with the effect of the United States system on the safety of dairy products produced domestically. Equivalency discussions between Canada and the USA are ongoing.
Documentation requirements
Certificate
Note: Certification is not required for "Grade A" products moving to the USA when the processor is operating under contract with any current NCIMS member's regulatory/rating agency to provide the "Grade A" milk safety program. "Grade B" manufacturing grade milk and cream may be shipped into the US for further processing into ice cream, cheese, etc. Finished dairy products such as cheese may also move into the US. Generally no certification is required. If requested the dairy standard certificate is used.
- Health certificate for the export of dairy products and dairy based products for human consumption
- Note: For "Grade B" milk and milk products
- Export certificate for the export of dairy products and dairy based foods from Canada to the United States of America
- Note: For milk and milk products with vitamin D3/cholesterol components derived from wool grease of sheep imported into Canada that originated in Argentina, Australia, Chile, Falkland Islands, New Zealand, Uruguay and/or the United States.
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