PROTOCOLBETWEEN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND WATER MANAGEMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA AND THE GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF CUSTOMS OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ON INSPECTION AND QUARANTINE REQUIREMENTS FOR DAIRY PRODUCTS EXPORTED FROM THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA TO THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA("Off. Herald of RS - Treaties", No. 7/2019) |
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republic of Serbia (hereinafter referred to as MAFWM) and The General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as GACC) the through friendly consultation, have agreed to the following inspection and quarantine requirements of the dairy products exported from the Republic of Serbia (hereinafter referred to as Serbia) to the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as China).
Article 1
MAFWM will be responsible for official control (inspection), quarantine and issuance of health certificates of the dairy products to be exported to China.
Article 2
MAFWM will provide GACC, with the laws and regulations governing dairy stock related to animal health, dairy product producers, dairy product safety, hygiene and quality, as well as the inspection and quarantine items, methods and procedures for export dairy products. MAFWM will provide samples of the official stamping mark and health certificate on official anti-fake paper, as well as to notify GACC for any modifications and changes to any of the above at least one month in advance.
Article 3
MAFWM will provide information on the prevention and control system related to the diseases listed in Article 5 of this Protocol to GACC as required by the latter and notify GACC of the animal disease situation listed in Article 5 and defined by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) as notifiable.
MAFWM will provide GACC with the national residue monitoring plan and residue monitoring reports.
If necessary, GACC may send experts to Serbia to conduct on-site inspection of the above-mentioned system and management status with the necessary assistance provided by MAFWM.
Article 4
MAFWM confirms that:
a) The dairy products in this Protocol refer to milk and milk products of dairy cow, sheep and goat origin.
b) MAFWM has established effective system to ensure that the raw milk is from healthy dairy stock, and complies with the requirements of Article 5 of this Protocol.
c) MAFWM currently implements effective traceability system to ensure that the dairy products can be traced back to the dairy producers and farms that breed the dairy stock.
d) The raw milk of the dairy products exported by Serbia to China are only from Serbia. If the dairy ingredients of the dairy products exported by Serbia are from any country (region) other than Serbia, the country of origin of dairy ingredients has to be previously approved to export the relevant dairy ingredients to China.
Article 5
The dairy stock used to provide raw milk for the dairy products exported to China will comply with the following conditions:
a) Come from the farms that comply with the following conditions:
i. The dairy farms are not infected or suspected of being infected with foot and mouth disease at least one (1) month before the time of milk collection.
ii. Anthrax has not been clinically observed in the dairy farms when raw milk is collected.
iii. The dairy farms are free from bovine tuberculosis, para tuberculosis, rinderpest, rift valley fever, peste des petits ruminants, sheep pox, goat pox, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia.
iv. The farms are under the supervision of MAFWM.
v. Farms and surrounding areas have not been placed under quarantine restrictions according to the OIE Code and animal health regulations of Serbia due to animal diseases.
b) The animals have not been fed with the feeds prohibited by Serbia and China.
c) The national residue monitoring plan developed by MAFWM will be implemented and the manufacturers are required to test the raw milk. According to the national residue monitoring plan and raw milk test results, the residue levels of veterinary medicines, pesticides, as well as the residues of other toxic and hazardous substance in the dairy products to be exported to China do not exceed the maximum limits stipulated by Chinese standards.
Article 6
The manufacturers exporting dairy products to China should be approved or registered and controlled by the competent authority of Serbia and will comply with the requirements of China and Serbia on animal health and public health. The raw milk used by the manufacturers will come from farms complying with the requirements of Article 5 of this Protocol. The manufacturers will be registered with GACC in accordance with the Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China and Administrative Provisions on Registration of Overseas Manufacturers of Import Foods. The products from the dairy product manufacturer not registered with GACC are not allowed for export to China.
Article 7
The official inspectors of Serbia will ensure that:
a) The official veterinarians of Serbia implement the official control (inspection) and quarantine on the dairy farms, where the raw milk for dairy products to be exported to China originates from, according to the laws and regulations of Serbia.
b) All dairy farms comply with requirements of Article 5 of this Protocol, and the animals are healthy.
c) According to the test results of the national residue monitoring plan and raw milk test results of Serbia, the residue levels of veterinary medicines, pesticides, as well as the residues of other toxic and hazardous substances in the dairy products do not exceed the maximum limits stipulated by Chinese standards.
d) The raw milk contains no colostrums (except for bovine colostrum powder),milk during the use of antibiotics and withdrawal period or deteriorated milk.
e) The product adopts one of the following processing procedures:
i Adopting the sterilization procedure (ultra - high temperature UHT) at the minimum temperature of 132oC for at least 1s, or
ii If the pH value of milk is lower than 7.0, adopting the sterilization procedure (high temperature-short time HTST) at the minimum temperature of 72°C for at least 15s, or
iii If the pH value of milk is 7.0 or above, HTST procedure will be carried out twice.
f) The dairy product is produced by the manufacturers in Serbia under the supervision of competent authority of Serbia, and complies with the laws and regulations of Serbia.
g) The product complies with the food safety standards of China, and is safe, hygienic and fit for human consumption.
h) If any violation of the above-mentioned requirements is identified, MAFWM will immediately notify GACC, and suspend the export of any products from the relevant manufacturers, trace and investigate the reasons and take appropriate corrective measures, including recalling the products likely to be contaminated.
Article 8
The dairy products not complying with the requirements in Article 5 and Article 7 of this Protocol will not be processed together with the dairy products to be exported to China. The dairy products to be exported to China should be readily identifiable at all stages of processing and storage to ensure that only the products meeting the requirements of this Protocol are allowed for export to China.
Article 9
The dairy products destined for China will be wrapped and packaged with brand new materials complying with the international standards. The outer packing will indicate specification, place of origin (specific to state/province/city), destination, commodity name, weight, name of manufacturer, registration number, production batch number, storage condition, production date and shelf-life in Chinese and English.
The inner packing will comply with the relevant regulations of China, and the label will indicate country of origin, commodity name, registration number of manufacturer, name, address and means of contact of manufacturer, production date and shelf-life, and production batch number.
Article 10
During the whole process of packaging, storage and transportation, the dairy products to be exported to China will meet the hygienic requirements and will be protected from contamination by toxic and hazardous substances. The container should be sealed after the products are loaded into it and the seal number will be indicated in the health certificate. The package of the products will not be unwrapped, opened or replaced during the transportation.
Article 11
Each consignment of dairy products to be exported to China will be accompanied by an original official health certificate attesting that the dairy products meet the requirements of this Protocol, as well as the regulations of Serbia and China on animal health and public health. The official certificate of Serbia will apply only to the dairy products produced and processed by the manufacturers in Serbia.
Health certificate should be written in Serbian, Chinese and English. The format and content of the certificate should be mutually confirmed and agreed upon in advance by the both sides.
The certificate will not be altered, and will bear the official seal and signature of official inspector, and the destination will be China.
Article 12
Once any infectious disease indicated in Article 5 of this Protocol occurs in the dairy farm where the raw milk comes from, or a serious contamination incident threatening human health occurs in the processing establishment, Serbia will immediately stop exporting dairy products derived from the above-mentioned dairy farm or processing establishment to China, promptly recall any affected products, and notify GACC of the relevant information.
For resuming export to China from the above-mentioned dairy farm or processing establishment after the infectious disease is completely eliminated or the contamination incident is properly handled, competent authorities of Serbia should provide GACC with a detailed report containing information on the occurrence of the infectious disease or contamination incident, retrospective investigation and prevention & control measures. GACC may decide whether to resume import from the above-mentioned dairy farm or processing establishment after reviewing the report provided by competent authorities of Serbia. These measures will be only targeted at the above-mentioned dairy farm or processing establishment.
If the imported dairy products are found non-compliant with the requirements of this Protocol by GACC, it will immediately notify MAFWM and seek the return, destruction, or other treatment of the products. MAFWM will cooperate with GACC in investigating the causes and seeking solutions, including notifying GACC of any corrective actions taken, such as recalling other products likely to be contaminated, so as to prevent recurrence of such incident.
Article 13
The dairy product mentioned in this Protocol refers to food processed from milk as the main raw material, including pasteurized milk, sterilized milk, modified milk, fermented milk, cheese and processed cheese, cream, butter, anhydrous milkfat, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and formulated condensed milk, milk powder, whey powder and whey protein powder, bovine colostrum powder, casein, milk mineral, milk based infant formula and its premix (or base powder),etc..
MAFWM should guarantee that the dairy products to be exported to China be properly thermally processed according to Article 7/e of this Protocol.
Article 14
This Protocol can be amended by mutual consent in written form; the effective date of the amendment will be decided through consultation between the two sides. Such amendment will form an integral part of this Protocol.
Article 15
Either side may terminate this Protocol by notifying the other side in writing six months in advance of the intended date of termination.
Article 16
Either side may request consultation through official channel at any time. The time and venue of consultation shall be discussed and decided by both sides.
Article 17
This Protocol does not create any rights or obligations for China and Serbia under international law and will come into force on the date of signing. It will remain effective for 5 (five) years and be automatically extended for another 5 (five) years unless either side formally notice the other side its intention to terminate the Protocol at least 6 (six) months prior to the end of the first 5 (five) years.
This Protocol is signed in Belgrade, on 17. june 2019, in two original copies, each in Serbian, Chinese and English languages, all texts being equally authentic. In case of any divergence in interpretation, the English text shall prevail.
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