What Should You Know About Exporting Meat From New Zealand?

Exporting meat from New Zealand is obviously possible. This should come as no surprise for you since we are talking about a country where sheep roam among literally everywhere and there is a very high consumption of meat to start with. However, even if this can be very beneficial for a business in the industry, it does not mean that you can easily export without respecting some very strict guidelines.

Basically, the most important thing at the end of the day for your business is to make sure that you are aware of and you respect all the requirements for meat export from NZ. This includes beef, pork, goat, lamb, mammals, emu, ostrich, and much more. If this is what you want to do, here are the things you need to remember.

Comply With National New Zealand Food Standards And Legislation

Labelling requirements are mandatory, together with all relevant food regulations and standards. This includes respecting:

• The 2014 Food Act
• The 1999 Animal Products Act
• The Food Standards Code Of Australia And New Zealand

Risk Management Operations

You need official reassurance for meat exports. In order to get this, you have to process and produce meat under verified and registered RMP (risk management programme). The other suppliers that are a part of your used export chain (like storage facilities, transporters, and processors) should also operate under such an RMP. These are mandatory to manage hazard and make sure that the products you export are fit for their purpose (and meet all legal requirements).

RMP information is going to be a part of the official assurance application you file. This information has to be logged into E-cert all throughout the selling process. When the meat is transported, stored, or processed and the RMP does not exist, meat loses export eligibility.

Registering And Developing The RMP

Get in touch with NZ Customs to be a part of the risk management programmes and download the official RMP manual. All transport operators have to operate under regulated control schemes or through an official risk management programme.

Verify The RMP

After the programme is developed and registered, it has to be regularly verified. This is only possible through the services of an MPI official recognized verification agency.

There are cases when RMPs are not needed, based on market requirements and meat export type.

Animal Status Declarations

When sending animals for processing, or you move them between different properties, maybe to a sale yard, an ASD is needed, which stands for animal status declaration.

Hormonal Growth Promotants Status

When using HGPs (hormonal growth promotants), there are some strict restrictions that apply to all the bovine animals (basically, all cattle). You are not allowed to export meat from the animals that have HGPs implanted towards countries in the European Union. There are also other countries where the use of HGP and import of meat with HGP is prohibited.

Official Devices

All meat products need to be properly labelled and packed in order guarantee that they are secure. This is also important so that contents is easy to track towards official assurances (like export certificates) that are applied to what is to be exported. All the official devices that are meant to protect product integrity need to be officially approved by the MPI.