Conditions for importing meat products from Uruguay

On this page

• 1. Meat Inspection systems approved
• 2. Types of meat products accepted for import (based on animal health restrictions)
• 3. Additional animal health certification attestations required on the OMIC
• 4. Additional, other than animal health, certification attestations required on the OMIC
• 5. Establishments eligible for export to Canada

1. Meat Inspection systems approved

1.1 Bovine:

slaughter, cutting, deboning and offal, natural salted animal intestinal casings.

1.2 Ovine:

slaughter, cutting, deboning and offal, natural salted animal intestinal casings.

1.3 Processing (for meat inspection system(s) approved):

comminuting, formulating, curing, cooking and canning.

2. Types of meat products accepted for import (based on animal health restrictions)

2.1 Fresh meat and raw meat products (chilled or frozen) including boneless cuts, offal, natural salted animal intestinal casings:

• 2.1.1 Meat and meat products derived from bovine of Uruguayan origin - boneless only - see sections 3.1, 4.1 and 4.3 for additional certification attestations required.
• 2.1.2 Natural salted casings derived from bovine Uruguayan origin - see sections 3.2 and 4.3 for additional certification attestations required.
• 2.1.3 Meat and meat products derived from ovine of Uruguayan origin - boneless only - see sections 3.3 and 4.3 for additional certification attestations required
• 2.1.4 Natural salted casings derived from ovine of Uruguayan origin - see sections 3.4 and 4.3 for additional certification attestations required
• 2.1.5 Meat and meat products derived from imported meat and meat products originating from Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) approved countries and establishments - see sections 3.9, and 4.1 for additional certification attestations required.

2.2 All processed meat products (heat treated and raw), other than shelf stable, commercially sterile meat products packaged in hermetically sealed containers (cans or retortable pouches) and shelf stable dried soup-mix products, bouillon cubes and meat extract:

• 2.2.1 Meat products derived from bovine of Uruguayan origin - see sections 3.5 or 3.6, 4.2 and 4.3 for additional certification attestations required.
• 2.2.2 Meat products derived from ovine of Uruguayan origin - see sections 3.7 and 4.3 for additional certification attestations required.
• 2.2.3 Meat products derived from imported meat and meat products originating from CFIA approved countries and establishments - see section 3.9 and 4.2 for additional certification attestations required.

2.3 Shelf stable, commercially sterile meat products packaged in hermetically sealed containers (cans or retortable pouches) and shelf stable dried soup-mix products, bouillon cubes, meat extract:

• 2.3.1 Meat products derived from bovine of Uruguayan origin - see sections 3.8 and 4.3 for additional certification attestations required.
• 2.3.2 Meat products derived from ovine of Uruguayan origin - see section 4.3 for additional certification attestations required
• 2.3.3 Meat products derived from imported meat and meat products originating from CFIA approved countries and establishments - see section 3.9 for additional certification attestations required.

3. Additional animal health certification attestations required on the Official Meat inspection Certificate (OMIC)

3.1 For deboned fresh (chilled or frozen) raw meat and meat product derived from bovine of Uruguayan origin identified in section 2.1 except natural salted casings:

"I hereby certify that the meat and/or meat products covered by this certificate:

• 3.1.1 Were derived from bovine which:
  1. were born, raised and slaughtered in Uruguay;
  2. have remained in Uruguay, a country where cattle are regularly vaccinated against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), where official controls are in operation and where there has been no outbreak of FMD, nor evidence of FMD virus infection within the last 12 months;
  3. have been vaccinated at least twice, with the last vaccination not more than 12 months and not less than one month prior to slaughter;
  4. did not come from holdings that have been placed under official veterinary controls with regards to any notifiable or reportable disease of bovine animals;
  5. were resident on the same farm in Uruguay for at least 30 days prior to being shipped for slaughter; and FMD has not occurred within a 10 kilometer radius of the farm premises during that period;
  6. have been transported in a vehicle which was cleansed and disinfected before the cattle were loaded, directly from the establishment of origin to the approved abattoir without coming into contact with other animals of a lesser zoosanitary status;
  7. have been subjected to ante mortem inspection within 24 hours before slaughter, followed by post-mortem inspection for FMD including a thorough examination of the four feet and mouth of every animal with favourable results;
  8. were slaughtered in an approved abattoir, officially designated for export, and in which FMD has not been detected during the period between the last disinfection carried out before slaughter and the shipment for export, and
  9. were not subjected to a stunning process, prior to slaughter, with a device injecting compressed air or gas into the cranial cavity, or to a pithing process involving laceration, after stunning of the animal, of the animal's central nervous tissue by means of an elongated rod-shaped instrument that is introduced into the animal's cranial cavity.
• 3.1.2 Were prepared from deboned carcasses:
  1. from which all visually identifiable lymphatic nodes have been removed and represent carcass meat for human consumption which do not include any meat or by-products of the head, feet, diaphragmatic muscle and viscera.
  2. which, prior to deboning, have been submitted to maturation at a temperature above +2°C for a minimum period of 24 hours following slaughter and in which the pH value was below 6.0, when tested electronically, in the middle of both the longissimus dorsi."
  3. prepared in a manner to avoid contamination with tissues listed in Article 11.4.14 of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH; founded as Office International des Épizooties (OIE)) Terrestrial Animal Health Code
  4. Every precaution was taken to prevent any direct or indirect contact during the slaughter, handling, processing and packaging of the meat products, with any animal product or by-product derived from animals of a lesser zoosanitary status.

3.2 For bovine natural salted intestinal casings of Uruguayan origin:

"I hereby certify that the natural intestinal casings:

• 3.2.1 Were derived from bovine which:
  1. were born, raised and slaughtered in Uruguay;
  2. were not subjected to a stunning process, prior to slaughter, with a device injecting compressed air or gas into the cranial cavity, or to a pithing process involving laceration, after stunning of the animal, of the animal's central nervous tissue by means of an elongated rod-shaped instrument that is introduced into the animal's cranial cavity.
  3. Uruguay complies with conditions of Article 11.4.3 of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Terrestrial Animal Health Code.
• 3.2.2 The natural bovine intestinal casings have been cleaned, scraped and salted for at least 30 days either with dry salt (NaCl) or with saturated brine or with phosphate supplemented dry salt containing 86.5 percent NaCl, 10.7 percent Na₂HPO₄ and 2.8 percent Na₃PO₄ (weight/weight/weight), and kept at a temperature of greater than 12°C during this entire period.
• 3.2.3 Every precaution was taken to prevent any direct or indirect contact during the slaughter, handling, processing and packaging of the meat products, with any animal product or by-product derived from animals of a lesser zoosanitary status"

3.3 For deboned fresh (chilled or frozen) raw meat and meat product derived from ovine of Uruguayan origin identified in section 2.1 except natural salted casings:

"I hereby certify that the meat and/or meat products:

• 3.3.1 Were derived from ovine which:
  1. were born and raised in Uruguay or were imported into Uruguay at least 90 days prior to slaughter;
  2. were resident on the same farm in Uruguay for at least 40 days prior to being shipped for slaughter; and FMD has not occurred within a 10 kilometre radius of the farm premises during that period;
  3. were shipped directly from the farm to the abattoir without having been in an auction market;
  4. were transported in a cleaned and disinfected vehicle directly from the establishment of origin to the approved abattoir registered for export without coming into contact with other animals of a lesser zoosanitary status;
  5. have been subjected to ante mortem inspection within 24 hours before slaughter followed by post mortem examination for FMD with favourable results;
  6. were slaughtered in an approved abattoir, officially designated for export, and in which  FMD has not been detected during the period between the last disinfection carried out before slaughter and the shipment for export
• 3.3.2 Were prepared from deboned carcasses:
  1. from which all visually identifiable lymphatic nodes and blood clots have been removed;
  2. which, prior to deboning, have been submitted to maturation at a temperature above +2°C for a minimum period of 24 hours following slaughter and in which the pH value was below 6.0, when tested, as per Uruguay procedure 2001/2; and that;
• 3.3.3 Every precaution was taken to prevent any direct or indirect contact during the handling, processing and packaging of the meat products, with any animal product or by-product derived from animals of a lesser zoosanitary status."

3.4 For ovine natural salted intestinal casings of Uruguayan origin:

"I hereby certify that the natural intestinal casings:

• 3.4.1 Were derived from ovine which:
  1. were born and raised in Uruguay or were imported into Uruguay at least 90 days prior to slaughter;
  2. have not been exposed at any time during slaughter, cutting, storage or transport to any animal product or by-product derived from animals of a lesser zoosanitary status.
• 3.4.2 The natural ovine intestinal casings have been cleaned, scraped and salted for at least 30 days either with dry salt (NaCl) or with saturated brine or with phosphate supplemented dry salt containing 86.5 percent NaCl, 10.7 percent Na₂HPO₄ and 2.8 percent Na₃PO₄ (weight/weight/weight), and kept at a temperature of greater than 12°C during this entire period."

3.5 For all deboned processed meat products derived from bovine of Uruguayan origin, other than shelf stable commercially sterile meat products packaged in hermetically sealed containers (cans and/or retortable pouches) and shelf stable dried soup-mix products, bouillon cubes, meat extract

"I hereby certify that the processed meat products:

• 3.5.1 Were derived from bovine which:
  1. were born, raised and slaughtered in Uruguay;
  2. have remained in Uruguay, a country where cattle are regularly vaccinated against FMD, where official controls are in operation and where there has been no outbreak of FMD nor evidence of FMD virus infection within the last 12 months;
  3. have been vaccinated at least twice with the last vaccination not more than 12 months and not less than one month prior to slaughter;
  4. were resident on the same farm in Uruguay for at least 30 days prior to being shipped for slaughter; and FMD has not occurred within a 10 kilometre radius of the farm premises during that period;
  5. did not come from holdings that have been placed under official veterinary controls with regards to any notifiable or reportable disease of bovine animals;
  6. have been transported in a vehicle which was cleaned and disinfected before the cattle were loaded, directly from the establishment of origin to the approved abattoir without coming into contact with other animals of a lesser zoosanitary status;
  7. were slaughtered in an approved abattoir, officially designated for export, and in which FMD has not been detected during the period between the last disinfection carried out before slaughter and the shipment for export;
  8. have been subjected to ante mortem inspection within 24 hours before slaughter followed by post-mortem inspection for FMD including a thorough examination of the four feet and mouth of every animal with favourable results
  9. were not subjected to a stunning process, prior to slaughter, with a device injecting compressed air or gas into the cranial cavity, or to a pithing process involving laceration, after stunning of the animal, of the animal's central nervous tissue by means of an elongated rod-shaped instrument that is introduced into the animal's cranial cavity.
• 3.5.2 Were prepared from deboned carcasses:
  1. from which all visually identifiable lymphatic nodes have been removed and represents carcass meat for human consumption which do not include any meat or by-products of the head, feet, diaphragmatic muscle and viscera;
  2. which, prior to deboning, have been submitted to maturation at a temperature above +2°C for a minimum period of 24 hours following slaughter and in which the pH value was below 6.0 when tested electronically in the middle of both the longissimus dorsi..
  3. prepared in a manner to avoid contamination with tissues listed in Article 11.4.14 of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Terrestrial Animal Health Code
• 3.5.3 Every precaution was taken to prevent any direct or indirect contact during the slaughter, handling, processing and packaging of the meat products, with any animal product or by-product derived from animals of a lesser zoosanitary status."

3.6 For frozen, cooked, tubed, boneless meat products derived from bovine of Uruguayan origin, when they cannot satisfy conditions specified under section 3.5:

"I hereby certify that the processed meat products covered by this certificate:

• 3.6.1 Were derived from bovine which were not subjected to a stunning process, prior to slaughter, with a device injecting compressed air or gas into the cranial cavity, or to a pithing process involving laceration, after stunning of the animal, of the animal's central nervous tissue by means of an elongated rod-shaped instrument that is introduced into the animal's cranial cavity.
• 3.6.2 The tubed, boneless meat product derived from bovine of Uruguayan origin covered by this certificate was thoroughly cooked throughout at (name, address and establishment number of approved establishment), under conditions approved by the Meat Inspection Service of Uruguay to prevent any contact with uncooked products.
• 3.6.3 Uruguay complies with conditions of Article 11.4.3 of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Terrestrial Animal Health Code.
• 3.6.4 Every precaution was taken to prevent any direct or indirect contact during the slaughter, handling, processing and packaging of the meat products, with any animal product or by-product derived from animals of a lesser zoosanitary status"

3.7 For all processed meat products derived from ovine of Uruguayan origin, other than shelf stable commercially sterile, cooked, meat products packaged in hermetically sealed containers and meat extracts:

"I hereby certify that meat product:

• 3.7.1 Were derived from ovine which:
  1. were born and raised in Uruguay or were imported into Uruguay at least 90 days prior to slaughter;
  2. were resident on the same farm in Uruguay for at least 40 days prior to being shipped for slaughter; and FMD has not occurred within a 10 kilometre radius of the farm premises during that period;
  3. were shipped directly from the farm to the abattoir without having been in an auction market;
  4. were transported in a cleaned and disinfected vehicle directly from the establishment of origin to the approved abattoir registered for export without coming into contact with other animals of a lesser zoosanitary status;
  5. have been subjected to ante mortem inspection within 24 hours before slaughter followed by post mortem examination for FMD with favourable results;
  6. were slaughtered in an approved abattoir, officially designated for export, and in which FMD has not been detected during the period between the last disinfection carried out before slaughter and the shipment for export
• 3.7.2 Were prepared from deboned carcasses:
  1. from which all visually identifiable lymphatic nodes and blood clots have been removed;
  2. which, prior to deboning, have been submitted to maturation at a temperature above +2°C for a minimum period of 24 hours following slaughter and in which the pH value was below 6.0, when tested, as per Uruguay procedure 2001/2; and that;
• 3.7.3 Every precaution was taken to prevent any direct or indirect contact during the handling, processing and packaging of the meat products, with any animal product or by-product derived from animals of a lesser zoosanitary status."

3.8 Shelf stable commercially sterile meat products packaged in hermetically sealed containers (cans or retortable pouches) and shelf stable dried soup-mix products, bouillon cubes, meat extract derived from bovine of Uruguayan origin:

"I hereby certify that the meat products:

• 3.8.1 Were derived from bovine which were not subjected to a stunning process, prior to slaughter, with a device injecting compressed air or gas into the cranial cavity, or to a pithing process involving laceration, after stunning of the animal, of the animal's central nervous tissue by means of an elongated rod-shaped instrument that is introduced into the animal's cranial cavity.
• 3.8.2 Uruguay complies with conditions of Article 11.4.3 of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Terrestrial Animal Health Code
• 3.8.3 Every precaution was taken to prevent any direct or indirect contact during the slaughter, handling, processing and packaging of the meat products, with any animal product or by-product derived from animals of a lesser zoosanitary status."

3.9 For meat and meat products prepared from meat and meat products imported into Uruguay, including commercially sterilized shelf stable meat products packaged in hermetically sealed containers (cans or retortable pouches) and shelf stable dried soup-mix products, bouillon broth cubes and meat extract:

"I hereby certify that:

• 3.9.1 The meat and/or meat product:
  • 3.9.1.1 Were legally imported into Uruguay;
  • 3.9.1.2 Meet all Canadian requirements for commercial importation of meat products as listed in Countries from which commercial importation of meat products is permitted, as if they were exported from the country of origin directly to Canada.
• 3.9.2 Every precaution was taken to prevent direct or indirect contact during the processing and packaging of the meat product with any animal product or by-product derived from animals of a lesser zoosanitary status.
• 3.9.3 The meat inspection certificate with which the meat was imported into Uruguay is kept on file at the Uruguayan processing establishment for verification purposes for a minimum of 2 years following the importation"

4. Additional, other than animal health, certification attestations required on the OMIC

4.1 For meat and meat products derived from bovine considered as precursor material for the preparation of finished raw ground meat including, but not limited to, trim, bench trim (trim derived from primal and sub-primal cuts), head meat, cheek meat, tongue roots, weasand meat, hearts and finely textured beef:

"I hereby certify that:

• 4.1.1 The meat and/or meat products derived from bovine and covered by this certificate are considered as precursor material for the preparation of finished raw ground meat, and were tested for the presence of E. coli O157:H7/NM according to procedures described in Control Measures for Escherichia coli O157:H7/NM in Raw Beef Products, and
• 4.1.2 Were tested in a laboratory accredited according to ISO 17025 standards (for example, a laboratory that is formally recognized by an accreditation body that is a signatory to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) as conforming to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2005), and
• 4.1.3 The test results were recorded on a certificate of analysis indicating that E. coli O157:H7/NM was not detected, and
• 4.1.4 The said certificate of analysis is issued in one of Canada's official languages (English or French) and attached to this certificate"

4.2 For raw ground meat derived from bovine:

"I hereby certify that:

• 4.2.1 The meat and/or meat products derived from bovine used for the preparation of raw ground meat covered by this certificate were tested for the presence of E. coli O157:H7/NM according to procedures described in Control Measures for Escherichia coli O157:H7/NM in Raw Beef Products, and
• 4.2.2 Were tested in a laboratory accredited according to ISO 17025 standards (for example, a laboratory that is formally recognized by an accreditation body that is a signatory to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) as conforming to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2005), and
• 4.2.3 The test results were recorded on a certificate of analysis indicating that E. coli O157:H7/NM was not detected, and
• 4.2.4 The said certificate of analysis will be kept on file in the processing establishment for a minimum of 2 years period from the date of this certificate."

4.3. For all meat and meat products derived from animals of Uruguayan origin:

"I hereby certify that:

• 4.3.1 The meat products covered by this certificate have been derived from animals that were humanely rendered unconscious in a reversible or irreversible manner prior to being bled, or were slaughtered as per Judaic or Islamic law."

5. Establishments eligible for export to Canada

5.1 Refer to the List of foreign countries establishments eligible to export meat products to Canada