South Africa - Export requirements for meat and poultry products

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On this page

• Eligible/ineligible product
• Pre-export approvals by competent authority of importing country
• Production controls and inspection requirements
• Labelling, marking and packaging requirements
• Documentation requirements
• Other information

Eligible/ineligible product

Eligible products

• Raw pork meat products
• Cooked meat/meat products
• Casings
• Poultry meat, including poultry skins and poultry meat products including mechanically separated poultry meat
• Fresh/frozen horse meat

Ineligible products

• Beef products - BSE: The importation of beef products is prohibited.

Pre-export approvals by competent authority of importing country

Establishments

• Establishments exporting raw meat products, including mechanically separated meat, must be approved by the South African authorities.

  To be added to the list of establishments eligible to export to South Africa, the operator of an establishment has to make a request to the appropriate Area Office. Upon receipt of a recommendation for approval from an Area Office, the National Export Program Specialist will make a formal request for approval to the South African authorities who will advise of their final decision. All interested parties will be notified accordingly.

  Refer to Annex 1 - List of Establishments Approved to Export to South Africa for the list of approved establishments.

  Processing establishments functioning as a storage and shipping facility for meat products destined to South Africa do not need to be registered with South Africa.

Production controls and inspection requirements

• General requirements
  • Water potability: records must show absence of fecal coliform (E. coli) and a maximum total plate count of 100 microorganisms per ml.
  • Medical records: all personnel handling edible products must have passed an annual medical examination declaring him/her fit to handle meat. An annual medical examination may be waived if there is an acceptable ongoing program in respect of monitoring the employee's health status. An example of what would be considered as an acceptable ongoing program is illustrated below.
    • Provision of an in-plant or readily accessible medical service utilizing a physician or a nurse or both.
    • If there is any reason to believe that an employee's one or two day absence was due to a sickness that may have an impact regarding his/her suitability to handle meat products, the employee reports to the above medical service following the absence and only returns to work after having been declared fit to do so.
    • If there is any reason to believe that an employee's more prolonged absence was due to a sickness that may have an impact regarding his/her suitability to handle meat products, the employee only returns to work after he/she has obtained a physician's certificate explaining that there is no impediment to his/her return to work in a food handling capacity. Such a certification may also be required in a case of shorter absences where medical history indicates a need.
  • Operators of establishments must have control programs in place that will ensure that products non-eligible for other markets/domestic use can be distinguished from those that are destined for export to South Africa through receiving, processing, shipping and distribution. The control programs must be reviewed and found satisfactory by the inspector in charge. Inspectors are then responsible for monitoring the operator's controls to ensure themselves that they are adequately followed.
• Raw pork meat products:
  • Unless the products meet the requirements for unrestricted entry as outlined in paragraph below and are certified accordingly, pork products will only be allowed for importation in South Africa for further processing under the control of South African authorities at approved facilities.
  • Following pork meat products can be exported from Canada to South Africa for unrestricted entry:
    • Pork meat products recognizable and free of lymph nodes and excessive connective tissue: hearts, livers, skins (excluding masks), subcutaneous fat, trotters or feet (excluding the carpal and tarsal joints), tails and ears (see annex G).
    • Bone-in or deboned meat cuts be free of lymph nodes and excessive connective tissue. Each cut must receive prior approval from South African authorities. The list of cuts provided in Annex G has been approved by the South African authorities.
    • Consumer ready meat cuts packed for retail sale in South Africa, this list has yet to be established.
  • Operators of establishments where pork is manufactured for export to South Africa must develop and implement effective and verifiable control measures to ensure compliance with all additional South Africa specific products requirements listed above and to ensure that products intended for export to South Africa can be distinguish at all time from products that are not eligible for export to South Africa.
    • The controls measures must include monitoring, verification and deviation procedures.
    • The control measures must be reviewed and found satisfactory by the inspector. The inspector will verify compliance through usual inspection activities.
• Poultry meat
  • Establishments must comply with the provisions of Annex U: USDA Performance Standards for Salmonella or with the provisions of Canada's Pathogen Reduction Monitoring Program for Salmonella and Campylobacter for raw poultry (PRMP). Canada's PRMP was implemented on April 11, 2023 and is designed to provide a level of protection equivalent to the standards set by FSIS
  • The certification concerning the absence of Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium should be based on 13 samples representative of the shipment. After 16 consecutive shipments negative to Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium from the same establishment, the number of samples required will decrease to five (5). The samples should be sent to a federal laboratory or a recognized laboratory accompanied by the usual form. Results of analysis should be kept on file with the corresponding export certificates.

Labelling, marking and packaging requirements

• For poultry carcasses/cuts containing kidneys from chickens/ducks weighing more than 2.7 kg (carcass weight), shipping cartons shall be labelled as being for export.
• The export stamp must appear on each shipping container.
• The transport container must be sealed with an official seal.

Documentation requirements

• When shipping meat products, the following certification must be made in the English language on original official letterhead. Each document must be individually signed, stamped and stamp dated. Photocopies or carbon copies are not acceptable.
• Certificate of Inspection Covering Meat Products (CFIA/ACIA 1454) must be issued.

  In addition:

  • For raw pork meat products: Annex A or Annex A-1 should be issued as applicable.
  • • For point 4.2 of Annex A and A-1, when the whole Trichinella treatment is done en route, please indicate non-applicable on the first line (from) and indicate only the date of placement in container.
    • The operator is required to submit a copy of import permit when presenting export certificate for signature. The signing veterinarian must ensure that product description on export certificate is same as on import permit issued by the South African authorities.
  • For cooked meat/meat products: Annex B must be issued.
  • For casings: Annex C must be issued.
    • An example of a permit is shown in Annex C-1.
  • For poultry meat, including poultry skins and poultry meat products including mechanically separated poultry meat: Annex D must be issued.
    • For edible poultry skins, point 9 of Annex D does apply while point 10 does not.
    • An example of an import permit for frozen edible poultry offal is shown in Annex E.
  • For fresh/frozen horse meat: Annex F must be issued.

Other information

• An import permit must be obtained from the authorities of South Africa before the product leaves Canada.
• All applicable requirements will be specified on the permit, including the designation of the specific products allowed for import and requirements for further processing under the control of the South African authorities, as applicable. The Health and Meat Inspection Certificate is generally an integral part of the permit. The importer/exporter is responsible to verify that the certification reflects the conditions prescribed by the import permit. Processed products are also subject to the provisions of the legislation administered by the Health Ministry.
• The exporter must be aware that when the certificate issued by the CFIA for a shipment is the Annex A, such shipments are required go to an officially approved facility for further processing in South Africa.
• It is permitted to export to South Africa poultry carcasses/cuts containing kidneys from chickens/ducks weighing more than 2.7 kg (carcass weight). Segregation requirements stated above will apply.
• Poultry shipments may be subjected to microbiological testing, including Salmonella spp., on arrival in South Africa.
• Export of pork lungs to South Africa for human consumption is allowed.