《CAC GL 47-2003 Food Import Control Systems.doc》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《CAC GL 47-2003 Food Import Control Systems.doc（17页珍藏版）》请在三一文库上搜索。
1、CAC GL 47-2003 Food Import Control SystemsCAC/GL 47-2003 Page 1 of 9 GUIDELINES FOR FOOD IMPORT CONTROL SYSTEMS CAC/GL 47-2003 SECTION 1 -SCOPE This document provides 8a framework for the development and operation of an import control system to protect consumers and facilitate fair practices in food
2、 trade while ensuring unjustified technical barriers to trade are not introduced1. The Guideline is consistent with the Codex Principles for Food 1Import and Export Inspection and Certification and provides specific information about imported food control that is an adjunct to the Guidelines for the
3、 Design, Operation, Assessment and 2Accreditation of Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems. 3 SECTION 2 DEFINITIONS Appropriate Level of Protection (ALOP) is the level of protection deemed appropriate by the country establishing a sanitary measure to protect human life or healt
4、h within its territory. (This concept may otherwise be referred to as the “acceptable level of risk”.) Audit* is a systematic and functionally independent examination to determine whether activities and related results comply with planned objectives. Certification* is the procedure by which official
5、 certification bodies and officially recognized bodies provide written or equivalent assurance that foods or food control systems conform to requirements. Certification of food may be, as appropriate, based on a range of inspection activities which may include continuous on-line inspection, auditing
6、 of quality assurance systems, and examination of finished products. Inspection* is the examination of food or systems for control of food, raw materials, processing and distribution, including in-process and finished product testing, in order to verify that they conform to requirements. Legislation
7、* includes acts, regulations, requirements or procedures, issued by public authorities, related to foods and covering the protection of public health, the protection of consumers and conditions of fair trading. Official accreditation* is the procedure by which a government agency having jurisdiction
8、 formally recognizes the competence of an inspection and/or certification body to provide inspection and certification services. Official inspection systems and official certification systems* are systems administered by a government agency having jurisdiction empowered to perform a regulatory or en
9、forcement function or both. Officially recognized inspection systems and officially recognized certification systems* are systems which have been formally approved or recognized by a government agency having jurisdiction. Requirements* are the criteria set down by the competent authorities relating
10、to trade in foodstuffs covering the protection of public health, the protection of consumers and conditions of fair trading. Risk assessment* A scientifically based process consisting of the following steps (i) hazard identification, (ii) hazard characterisation, (iii) exposure assessment, and (iv)
11、risk characterisation. 1 Principles for Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification (CAC/GL 20-1995) 2 Guidelines for the Design, Operation, Assessment and Accreditation of Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CAC/GL 26-1997). 3 Definitions drawn from the Guidelines f
12、or the Design, Operation , Assessment and Accreditation of Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CAC/GL 26-1997) are marked with *. Definitions drawn from Codex thAlimentarius Commission, Procedural Manual (12 edition) are marked with *. CAC/GL 47-2003 Page 2 of 9 Risk analysi
13、s* A process consisting of three components: risk assessment, risk management and risk communication. SECTION 3 - GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FOOD IMPORT CONTROL SYSTEMS Food import control systems should have the following main characteristics: ? requirements for imported food that are consistent wi
14、th requirements for domestic foods; ? clearly defined responsibilities for the competent authority or authorities; ? clearly defined and transparent legislation and operating procedures; ? precedence to the protection of consumers; ? provision of the importing country for recognition of the food con
15、trol system applied by an exporting countrys competent authority; ? uniform nationwide implementation; ? implementation that ensures the levels of protection achieved are consistent with those for domestic food. REQUIREMENTS FOR IMPORTED FOOD THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH REQUIREMENTS FOR DOMESTIC FOODS
16、Requirements are commonly expressed as end-point standards with specific limits and complementary sampling regimes. These requirements may consist of standards, provisions for sampling, process controls, conditions of production, transport, storage, or a combination of these. The extent and stringen
17、cy of requirements applied in specific circumstances should be proportionate to risk, noting that risk may vary from one source to another because of factors such as specific and/or similar situations in the region of origin, technology employed, compliance history, etc. and/or examination of releva
18、nt attributes of a sample of products at import. As far as possible, requirements should be applied equally to domestically produced and imported food. Where domestic requirements include process controls such as good manufacturing practices, compliance may be determined or equivalence confirmed by
19、auditing the relevant inspection and 4certification systems and, as appropriate, the facilities and procedures in the exporting country. CLEARLY DEFINED RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMPETENT AUTHORITY OR AUTHORITIES The competent authority(ies) involved in any of the imported food inspection functions at th
20、e point or points of entry, during storage and distribution and/or at point of sale, should have clearly defined responsibilities and authority. Multiple inspection and duplicative testing for the same analyte(s) on the same consignment should be avoided to the extent possible. Some countries, for e
21、xample those that are part of a regional economic grouping, may rely on import controls implemented by another country. In such cases, the functions, responsibilities, and operating procedures undertaken by the country which conducts the imported food control should be clearly defined and accessible
22、 to authorities in the country or countries of final destination with the aim of delivering an efficient and transparent import control system. Where the competent authorities of an importing country use third party providers as officially recognised inspection bodies and/or officially recognized ce
23、rtification bodies to implement controls, such arrangements should be conducted in the manner discussed in CAC/GL 26-1997, Section 8, Official Accreditation. The functions that can be conducted by such providers may include: 4 Guidelines for the Design, Operation, Assessment and Accreditation of Foo
24、d Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CAC/GL 26-1997), Para. 54. CAC/GL 47-2003 Page 3 of 9 ? sampling of target consignments; ? analysis of samples; ? compliance evaluation of relevant parts or all of a quality assurance system that may be operated by importers in order to compl
25、y with official requirements. CLEARLY DEFINED AND TRANSPARENT LEGISLATION AND OPERATING PROCEDURES The object of legislation is to provide the basis and the authority for operating a food import control system. The legal framework allows for the establishment of the competent authority(ies) and the
26、processes and procedures required to verify the conformity of imported products against requirements. Legislation should provide the competent authority with the ability to: ? appoint authorised officers; ? require prior notification of the importation of a consignment of a foodstuff; ? require docu
27、mentation; ? inspect, including the authority to enter premises within the importing country, physically examine the food and its packaging; collect samples and initiate analytical testing; inspection of documentation provided by an exporting country authority, exporter or importer; and verification
28、 of product identity against documentary attestations; ? apply risk-based sampling plans, taking into consideration the compliance history of the particular food, the validity of accompanying certification, and other relevant information; ? charge fees for the inspection of consignments and sample a
29、nalysis; ? recognize accredited or accredit laboratories; ? accept; reject; detain; destroy; order to destroy; order reconditioning, processing, or re-export; return to country of export; designate as non-food use; ? recall consignments following importation; ? retain control over consignments in tr
30、ansit during intra-national transport or during storage prior to import clearance; and, ? implement administrative and/or judicial measures when the specific requirements are not satisfied. In addition, the legislation may make provisions for: ? licensing or registration of importers; ? recognition
31、of verification systems used by importers; ? an appeal mechanism against official actions; ? assessing the control system of the exporting country; and ? certification and/or inspection arrangements with competent authorities of exporting countries. PRECEDENCE TO THE PROTECTION OF CONSUMERS In the d
32、esign and operation of food import control systems, precedence should be given to protecting the health of consumers and ensuring fair practices in food trade over economic or other trade considerations. CAC/GL 47-2003 Page 4 of 9 PROVISION OF THE IMPORTING COUNTRY FOR RECOGNITION OF THE FOOD CONTRO
33、L SYSTEM APPLIED BY AN EXPORTING COUNTRYS COMPETENT AUTHORITY Food import control systems should include provisions for recognition as appropriate of the food control system applied by an exporting countrys competent authority. Importing countries can recognise the food safety controls of an exporti
34、ng country in a number of ways that facilitate the entry of goods, including the use of memoranda of understanding, mutual recognition agreements and equivalence agreements and unilateral recognition. Such recognition should, as appropriate, include controls applied during the production, manufactur
35、e, importation, processing, storage, and transportation of the food products, and verification of the export food control system applied. UNIFORM NATION-WIDE IMPLEMENTATION Uniformity of operational procedures is particularly important. Programmes and training manuals should be developed and impleme
36、nted to assure uniform application at all points of entry and by all inspection staff. IMPLEMENTATION THAT ENSURES THE LEVELS OF PROTECTION ACHIEVED ARE CONSISTENT WITH THOSE FOR DOMESTIC FOOD As an importing country has no direct jurisdiction over process controls applied to food manufactured in an
37、other country, there may be a variation in approach to the compliance monitoring of domestic and imported food. Such differences in approach are justifiable provided they are necessary to ensure that the level of protection achieved is consistent with that of domestically produced food. SECTION 4 -
38、IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONTROL SYSTEM Operational procedures should be developed and implemented to minimize undue delay at the point or points of entry without jeopardizing effectiveness of controls to meet requirements. Implementation should take into account the factors listed in this section and
39、the possibility of recognizing guarantees at origin that includes implementation of controls in the exporting countries. POINT OF CONTROL Control of imported food by the importing country can be conducted at one or more points including the points of : ? origin, where agreed upon with the exporting
40、country; ? entry to the country of destination; ? further processing; ? transport and distribution; ? storage; and, ? sale, (retail or wholesale). The importing country can recognize controls implemented by the exporting country. The application of controls by the exporting country, during productio
41、n, manufacture and subsequent transit should be encouraged, with the aim of identifying and correcting problems when and where they occur, and preferably before costly recalls of food already in distribution are required. Pre-shipment clearance is a possible mechanism for ensuring compliance with re
42、quirements of, for example, valuable bulk packed products that if opened and sampled upon entry, would be seriously compromised, or for products that require rapid clearance to maintain safety and quality. CAC/GL 47-2003 Page 5 of 9 If the inspection system encompasses pre-shipment clearance then th
43、e authority to conduct the clearance should be determined and procedures defined. The importing countrys competent authority may choose to conduct pre-shipment clearance from an exporting countrys official certification system or from officially recognised third party certification bodies working to
44、 defined criteria. The pre-shipment clearance should be based on the results of the documentary check on the consignments. INFORMATION ABOUT FOOD TO BE IMPORTED 5 The efficacy of the control system in applying efficient targeted control measures depends upon information about consignments entering t
45、he jurisdiction. Details of consignments that may be obtained include: ? date and point of entry; ? mode of transport; ? comprehensive description of the commodity (including for example product description, amount, means of preservation, country of origin and/or of dispatch, identifying marks such
46、as lot identifier or seal identification numbers etc); ? exporters and importers name and address; ? manufacturer and/or producer, including establishment registration number; ? destination; and, ? other information. FREQUENCY OF INSPECTION AND TESTING OF IMPORTED FOOD The nature and frequency of in
47、spection, sampling and testing of imported foods should be based on the risk to human health and safety presented by the product, its origin and the history of conformance to requirements and other relevant information. Control should be designed to account for factors such as: ? the risk to human h
48、ealth posed by the product or its packaging; ? the likelihood of non-compliance with requirements; ? the target consumer group; ? the extent and nature of any further processing of the product; ? food inspection and certification system in the exporting country and existence of any equivalence, mutual recognition agreements or other trade agreements; and, ? history of conformity of producers, processors, manufacturers, exporters, importers and distributors. Physical chec