FSIS Has Extended The Expiration Date For This Notice To November 1, 2008

EXPORT CERTIFICATION OF IMPORTED NATURAL CASINGS

This notice instructs inspection program personnel on what is required to certify for export natural casings that were imported from other countries.

Natural casings are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Therefore, FSIS personnel do not reinspect imported casings and do not apply the USDA mark of inspection to them. Inspection program personnel can only certify imported natural casings for export, in accordance with 9 CFR 350.3, as a voluntary reimbursable service, and as set out in FSIS Directive 9000.1, Revision 1 (PDF).

Inspection program personnel will certify for export natural casings that were imported into the US provided that they can determine that all of the natural casings in the shipment presented for export certification meet the following conditions:

1. The animals from which the imported natural casings were derived were slaughtered in a country that has an equivalent inspection system to that of the United States for that species;
   
   NOTE: Information regarding countries and establishments eligible to provide products for importation into the United States and export requirements for destination countries can be found at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/Eligible_Foreign_Establishments/index.asp
   
   and
   
   http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/Export_Information/index.asp
   
   
2. A certificate signed by an official of the government of the country where the animals were slaughtered accompanies the imported casings stating:
   
   "I hereby certify that the animal casings herein described were derived from healthy animals (cattle, sheep, swine, or goats), which received antemortem and postmortem veterinary inspection at the time of slaughter, are clean and sound, and were prepared and handled only in a sanitary manner and were not subjected to contagion prior to exportation."
   
   NOTE: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) requires that this certificate accompany imported natural casings in accordance with 9 CFR 96.3. Other accompanying documentation should include certification that the casings represented by the certificate have not been commingled with casings from other sources, and documentation showing that the casings have been released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
   
   
3. The country to which the natural casings are being exported does not restrict the importation of such casings (i.e., the export library does not state "only casings originating from the United States are eligible," or similar wording).
   
   If the above conditions are met, inspection program personnel will, upon request of the exporter, issue FSIS Form 9060-18, Animal Casings Export Certificate for Countries Requiring Ante-mortem, Post-mortem, and Sound and Clean Statements, to certify imported natural casings for export.
   
   NOTE: Inspection program personnel cannot apply the USDA mark of inspection to the shipping containers since the casings were imported into the U.S. under FDA’s authority. Facilities may repack and re-label these casings without the USDA marks of inspection. However, FSIS will only issue a form 9060-18 if all of the natural casings in the shipment presented for export certification are accounted for in the facility’s documentation and meet the conditions described above.
   

Philip S. Derfler /s/

Assistant Administrator
Office of Policy, Program, and Employee Development