Information for Dairy Exporters

6 June 2008

What's Going On?

• Notification to all Exporters of Dairy Material and Dairy Product to the European Union

• Exporter News – Information on recent and upcoming issues relating to dairy certification

New Dairy Exporters

You need to register as an exporter

• Approval to Export Dairy Material and Dairy Product under the Animal Products Act 1999

• Exporter Registration Application Form AP1

To obtain official assurances, you need access to Dairy Products electronic certification system

• Getting access to Dairy Products E-cert

• People to contact for help with E-cert

General Certification Requirements

When applying for official assurances for dairy products, there are a number of requirements that may apply, depending on the type of product being certified, the country of destination etc. Below is a guideline to help you identify what requirements apply to you:

1. NZFSA Dairy Specifications and Notices

NZFSA Dairy Specifications and Notices provide technical detail or give effect to requirements in the Act or regulations. Dairy exporters should take particular note of the following:

Animal Products (Export Requirements – Dairy Products) Notice 2005

Animal Products (Official Assurance Specifications – Dairy Products) Notice 2005

2. Importing Country Requirements

The requirements for official assurances for dairy products vary widely between various foreign authorities. In some cases, additional requirements such as product testing, registration and additional supporting documents are required. It is strongly suggested that you familiarise yourself with the requirements of the countries you intend to export to.

For full details of importing country requirements, refer to Dairy Export Requirements (Importing Country Requirements).

3. Summary of Records (SOR)

A Summary of Records (SOR) is a declaration provided by the manufacturer and is required for the issue of all official assurances for dairy products. SORs are submitted directly to Dairy E-cert using an on-line form. They should be completed by an RMP Operator or a person designated by them.

Supporting document users guide [PDF 4.6M]

4. NZFSA Approved Dairy Product Descriptions and Qualifiers

Dairy exporters must describe the dairy product they intend to export in consistent terminology. NZFSA have established approved dairy product descriptions to support this.

For a full list and guidelines for use, refer to List of NZFSA Dairy Product Descriptions and Qualifiers

5. Signing Limits

NZFSA must sign all official assurances for dairy products on or before the day prior to the consignment reaching its port of discharge. In some cases, foreign authorities have imposed stricter timelines. For a summary of the signing limits, please refer to this page.

Dairy Quota Management System

The future allocation of rights to regulated dairy export markets is being reviewed.

• Updates on the dairy quota management system can be found here.