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1. Eligible/ineligible products
1.1 Eligible products
Meat products derived from pigs, cattle, horses, mutton and lamb, poultry, and game and farmed game animals (as defined in Annex C), except those listed under point 1.2 below.
Note: cooked beef products containing imported products: the Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has indicated that the use of beef imported from New Zealand, Australia and Uruguay is authorized.
1.2 Ineligible products
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Meat which consists of scraps, trimmings or other pieces (whether with or without bone) of such shape or in such condition as to afford insufficient means of identification with a definite part of a carcass
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Meat comprising the wall of the thorax or abdomen from which has been detached any part of the pleura or, (except in the case of meat derived from a pig) the peritoneum, other than a part necessarily removed in preparing the meat
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Meat, other than mutton and lamb, from which a lymphatic node, except a node necessarily removed in preparing the meat, has been taken out
Note: the head of an animal which does not include the attached maxillary lymph nodes (also known as mandibular lymph nodes), is allowed to be exported to Hong Kong as of May 26, 2014.
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Gravid uteri, those from post-parturient sows and from sows in estrus
- Beef meat products:
- tonsils and distal ileum from cattle of any age
- brains, eyes, spinal cord, skull, vertebral column (excluding the vertebrae of the tail, the transverse processes of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, and the wings of the sacrum) from cattle that were at the time of slaughter over 30 months of age
- mechanically separated meat and product from advanced meat recovery systems (finely textured meat)
- bone-in meat products derived from animals slaughtered before March 9, 2009
- offal and eligible products derived from "over thirty months" (OTM) animals derived from animals slaughtered before June 30, 2009
- bone-in meat derived from OTM animals, meat with vertebral column derived from "under thirty months" (UTM) animals derived from animals slaughtered before December 6, 2009
2. Pre-export approvals by competent authority of importing country
Beef, mutton, pork and poultry meat:
Beef, mutton, pork and poultry meat must originate from a meat establishment, including a cold storage, approved by Hong Kong for export. Lists of Canadian meat establishments approved by Hong Kong for different species.
Routine procedures must be followed to submit requests for approval of new meat establishments, including cold storages, using the "Application for establishment approval - Annex I".
Game or farmed game and horse meat:
All federally licensed meat establishments slaughtering, processing, and storing game or farmed game meat and horse meat are eligible for export to Hong Kong.
Cooked meat:
The Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has indicated that, in the case of cooked meat, including cooked beef products, prior approval of the manufacturing establishments referred to above is not required. Cooked meat products are considered as "general food items" in Hong Kong.
3. Products specifications, production controls and inspection requirements
3.1 Inspection requirements
The inspection of pig uteri must be conducted as follows:
- for gilts: inspected visually and by palpation
- for sows: inspected visually, by palpation and by incision
Since pig uteri are highly vascular organs, care must be taken to ensure that they do not show any inflammatory changes and that, whenever possible, these pig uteri are not obtained from sows which have a high ratio of inflammation or congestion.
3.2 Production control – Traceability of eligible products
- Operators of establishments where beef products are manufactured for export to Hong Kong must develop, implement and maintain effective and verifiable control programs for ensuring compliance with all applicable requirements
- Where eligible and non-eligible products are manufactured at the establishment, the control programs must ensure that non-eligible products can be distinguished from those that are eligible through receiving, processing, shipping/distribution
- The control programs must include monitoring, verification and deviation procedures. The controls implemented by the operator to comply with applicable requirements must be reviewed and found satisfactory by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) inspector
- The inspector will verify compliance through usual inspection activities
4. Labelling, marking and packaging requirements
The label of fresh chilled meat products derived from beef, mutton and pork destined for retail sale (prepackaged products) must bear the name and address of the slaughterhouse and the date of slaughter of the animals from which the meat is derived.
5. Documentation requirements
The certification must be provided in English
Below are the additional veterinary certificates that must be issued along with form CFIA/ACIA 1454.
5.1 In the case of pork, pork products/ by-products (for human consumption) including offal, Annex F.
In the case of pig uteri, either the CFIA/ACIA 1454 shall be endorsed as follows:
"I, __________, veterinary officer duly designated by the Government of Canada, certify that:
- the pig uteri of the consignment described above were derived from pigs which were inspected before and after slaughter by veterinary inspectors approved by the Government of Canada and are certified healthy
- the pig uteri of the consignment described above are wholesome and free from disease and congestion"
or, Annex A should be issued.
5.2 In the case of beef, Annex B.
Note: Annex B is not required for cooked beef products.
To export tallow, only CFIA/ACIA 1454 is required, however the fat must be derived from animals slaughtered in establishments that are eligible to export beef to Hong Kong (Annex 1).
5.3 In the case of game, farmed game and farmed game bird meat, Annex C
5.4 In the case of chilled or frozen poultry meat, Annex E
5.5 In the case of meat products derived from horses, the scientific name of the species (Equus caballus) should be indicated on the certificate CFIA/ACIA 1454 to facilitate release of the shipment. Hong Kong authorities have confirmed that form CFIA/ACIA 1454 fulfils the requirements for Certificate of Origin as well.
5.6 To export lard, only CFIA/ACIA 1454 is required.
6. Other information
The website of the Center for Food Safety of the Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department can be consulted for detailed requirements applicable to the products intended for export.
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Trade parties are responsible to ensure that applicable permits are obtained and that the certification issued by the CFIA meets applicable import requirements
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Under Hong Kong law, Chapter 132AK, Imported Game, Meat and Poultry Regulations, "meat" is defined as the fresh or frozen carcass, flesh or other edible part including viscera and offal, from an animal kept in captivity before slaughter from which beef, mutton, pork, veal or lamb is derived
Poultry is defined as: the fresh or frozen carcass of a domestic fowl, duck, goose, or turkey; the fresh or frozen part of any such carcass other than the viscera; or, the fresh or frozen viscera of any bird mentioned above, being viscera that is edible.
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Permits must be obtained for all importations of meat as defined by Hong Kong
An import permit must be obtained in advance to import pig uteri and horsemeat.
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Processed meat for example, cooked beef is legally treated as food (not meat products) and regulated accordingly in Hong Kong which is different from the Safe Food for Canadians Act and regulations
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A report must be made to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department of Hong Kong within 24 hours of the arrival of the consignment, stating the amount, description of the goods and the place of storage
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On arrival, the consignment must be inspected by food officers of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department of Hong Kong