Morocco - ATLAS system - Guidance for industry

Due to the evolving nature of Morocco's ATLAS system, the information on this page is subject to change.

Morocco's Office National de Sécurité Sanitaire des Produits Alimentaires (ONSSA) has launched ATLAS, an electronic platform for the registration of foreign establishments that manufacture, process and/or store certain food products that will be exported to Morocco.

Establishment registration in ATLAS is required for the following products prior to export:

  • Juices/nectars
  • Heat-treated canned vegetables, including sauces and seasonings
  • Milk and dairy products
  • Fish and seafood

On this page

1. Before creating your ATLAS account

Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) licence

Establishments must have a Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) licence that includes the activity "preparing food for export".

Establishment identification (ID) numbers

Establishments must also have an establishment identification (ID) number. ONSSA requires all establishments to have an overseas identification number issued by the foreign competent authority of the exporting country.

Contact your local Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) office if you do not have a CFIA-issued establishment ID number or a Safe Food for Canadians licence.

2. Creating an account in ATLAS

Canadian establishments that do not currently have an account in ATLAS must complete the following steps:

  • create an account in the ATLAS online system operated by ONSSA
  • contact your local CFIA office to request the account be validated by CFIA in order to be able to submit requests for product registrations

Note on ATLAS manual: A user manual is available within the ATLAS platform in the main menu under "Instructions for use".

3. Registering establishments and products

Once the account in ATLAS is validated, submit a request to register an establishment by following the steps below:

  • Step 1: Choose the product category
  • Step 2: Enter the basic information concerning the establishment
  • Step 3: Enter the production information
  • Step 4: Attach the necessary documents
  • Step 5: Submit the request in ATLAS to the CFIA

Notes

As part of the registration, modification and cancellation processes in ATLAS, establishments must download the attestation document, Declaration of conformity of establishment (Annexe I), from the system. They must print, sign and stamp/seal the attestation prior to scanning it and uploading it to ATLAS.

A company seal is an official sticker bearing the company logo or other official graphical identifier that would be applied on company documents. A company stamp is an official company imprint of such a graphic, often in ink and applied with a stamping device, or its digital equivalent.

Applicants are asked not to complete or attach the document entitled "Certificate of conformity by the competent authority (Annex II)" available in the system. CFIA approval in ATLAS is performed without using Annex II.

4. Modifying and cancelling product registrations

Modification requests in ATLAS

  • If an establishment needs to make amendments to an approved registration, they will need to submit a "Modification Request " in ATLAS
  • The modification process can include changing a name, removing products or adding additional products for ONSSA approval under a product category in which the establishment is already registered
  • The process in ATLAS to complete a "Modification Request " is the same as that for the "Registration Request"

Cancellation requests in ATLAS

Establishments wishing to cancel a product registration must submit a "Cancellation Request" in ATLAS.

5. Extending product registrations

Establishments are responsible to note the expiry date of their approved registration in their ATLAS account to ensure they do not miss the extension deadline set by ONSSA.

6. After submitting a request

Once establishments have submitted their requests (either new, modification or extension) in ATLAS, they will need to contact their CFIA local office by email to advise that they have submitted a request in ATLAS. In the email, establishments must supply all the relevant information that CFIA requires, specifically:

  • SFC licence number
  • company name as it appears in the ATLAS application
  • establishment physical address
  • establishment ID number used to create the establishment's ATLAS account
  • a list of the specific products or product types in the application(s)
  • for modification applications, include details regarding information being modified

7. ONSSA review of requests

After CFIA submits the requests in ATLAS, ONSSA's timeline for review and final approval of the request is unknown.

ONSSA may return requests due to various reasons that may further delay the approval and registration timeline.

8. Verifying registrations in ATLAS

Following a submission, establishments should regularly monitor their ATLAS accounts for changes in their request status in case corrections are required.

Establishments can view their ONSSA-approved registrations within their ATLAS accounts.

9. Clearing shipments in Morocco

It is important that Canadian establishments and their applicable products are registered in ATLAS prior to export. In addition, export documentation accompanying shipments must reflect the information that is currently in ATLAS. Information discrepancies between export documents and the information in ATLAS may create problems for shipment clearance when arriving in Morocco.

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