Decree n. 10.468/2020 modified the Brazilian Animal Product Health Protection Regulations (RIISPA, in the Portuguese acronym) of The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA). The modifications aim at further developing product quality and rationalizing procedures related to the inspection, and imports reinspection, of edible meat products (including fish).
The revision of the RIISPA, which was instituted by Decree n. 9.013/2017, by the recent Decree n. 10.468/2020 concerns a wide range of products and procedures related to the inspection of animal products. All alterations aim to rationalize the inspection process, improving its efficiency, and comply with the Law of Economic Freedom (Law 13.874/2019).
The decree made the international agricultural surveillance responsible for the reinspection of imported animal products before entry, done preferably in primary import zones.
It also mandated the registration of animal product suppliers and other measures to improve the quality of the production process, while it excluded non-edible meat products from the RIISPA obligations. It also instituted new rules on traceability and hygiene for fish products domestically produced.
The decree also clarified the concept of inspection of “permanent character”, which relates to the presence of an official inspection service at slaughterhouses for ante mortem and post mortem inspections. Other activities remain under the inspection regime of “periodic character”.
