Bovine meat and bovine meat products must get food safety clearance
All bovine meat and bovine meat products are high regulatory interest foods, which means they require food safety clearance at the border.
This is due to the potential presence of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy agent (BSE).
Learn more about Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
Definitions
Bovine means a bovid of the species Bos taurus and Bos indicus (cattle).
Meat includes all parts of an animal, excluding milk, that are intended for, or have been judged as safe and suitable for human consumption.
Meat products means products that result from the processing of fresh meat or processed products, so that the product no longer has the characteristics of fresh meat.
Inclusions and Exclusions
Included foods:
- bovine meat
- bovine meat products
- food containing bovine meat and bovine meat products
Excluded foods:
- collagen
- gelatine
- tallow with a maximum level of insoluble impurities of 0.15% in weight, and derivatives made from this tallow
- skin and skin products
- dicalcium phosphate
- rennet derived from cattle
- food containing less than 5% bovine meat and/or bovine meat products
- bakery products that contain tallow and do not contain any bovine meat or other bovine meat product
- food, other than bovine meat products, fried in tallow (for example, potato chips and other snacks)
- the following food in which the only meat product is flavouring, or extracts derived from bovine meat, or tallow:
- flavouring and seasoning preparations (for example, flavouring sauces, stock powder, bouillon cubes, dry mixes of sauces and gravies, hotpot soup base)
- instant foods (for example instant noodles, instant rice, instant soup); and
- salad dressings and dips
- dietary supplements containing bovine meat products (for example, dietary supplements containing bile extract powder or bone powder)
Note: Products that are fermented meat, meat paste or pâté must also meet MPI's requirements for these products.
Import Requirements
All imported bovine meat and bovine meat products must:
- be derived from animals that have been subjected to ante-mortem inspection and passed for slaughter, and that have been subjected to post-mortem inspection and deemed fit for human consumption
- be processed in processing premises that operate under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) based programme
- meet Bovine Spongiform Encepatholopathy (BSE) measures:
- in accordance with Chapter 11.4 of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Terrestrial Animal Health Code, as appropriate to the type of product for import into New Zealand and the exporting country’s BSE risk status as determined by the WOAH; or
- meet alternative measures, based on a risk assessment, agreed between the exporting country’s Competent Authority and MPI.
- meet any country-specific import conditions agreed between the exporting country’s Competent Authority and MPI.
