. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/MEX/182
3 April 2002
(02-1689)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  Spanish
NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY MEASURES
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  MEXICO
If applicable, name of local government involved:
2. Agency responsible:  Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries
and Food
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where
applicable). Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or
practicable:  Animal health
4. Title and number of pages of the notified document:  Emergency Mexican Official
Standard NOM-EM-015-ZOO-2002, Technical Specifications for Controlling the Use of
Beta-Agonists in Animals  (10 pages).
5. Description of content:  The purpose of this Standard, compliance with which is
mandatory in Mexico, is to establish technical specifications for controlling the use of beta-
agonists in animals. It applies to all natura l and/or legal persons directly or indirectly
involved in livestock activities, including sl aughterhouses and all establishments which
produce, manufacture, make, make to order, process, prepare, package, transport, trade in,market, import, supply and/or use, even free of charge, beta-agonists for and in animals.
Enforcement of this Standard is the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock,
Rural Development, Fisheries and Food and the local governments of the Federation and
Federal District, within the scope of their respective powers and territories and in
accordance with the respective coordination agreements. Implementation of the provisionsof this Standard is the responsibility of the National Agriculture and Food Health, Safety
and Quality Service, through the General Directorate of Animal Health and the General
Directorate of Animal and Plant Health Insp ection; the General Coordinating Agency for
Livestock; as well as the delegations of th e Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural
Development, Fisheries and Food and the State Governments, within their respectivepowers and territories.
6. Objective and rationale:  [     ] food safety,  [  X ] animal health,  [     ] plant protection,
[    ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [     ] protect territory from
other damage from pests
7. Nature of the urgent problem(s):  Pursuant to the Organic Law of the Federal Public
Administration, it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural
Development, Fisheries and Food to, inter alia , support and protect livestock farming by
implementing animal health measures designed to prevent, control and eradicate animal
diseases and pests with a view to protecting animal and human health.
Action needs to be taken to control the presence and amount of toxic residues in
products of animal origin to prevent risks to human health.G/SPS/N/MEX/182
Page 2
7. Nature of the urgent problem(s) (cont'd):  The Ministry is responsible for combating the
illegal use of banned and/or unauthorized pharmaceutical chemical products in order to
ensure the safety of food of livestock origin for human consumption.
The contamination of animal feed by chem ical, microbiological or biological agents
may present animal and/or public health risks.
Some beta-agonists which have not been authorized by the Ministry may be
improperly used as growth promoters to stimulate muscular hypertrophy and reduce fat
production in animal tissue.
The Ministry has identified the growing use of unauthorized beta-agonists in animal
feed, which increases the risk to animal and public health.  A case in point is clenbuterol,
the use of which as an active ingredient and food additive is banned in the formulation of
food products for animal consumption under NOM-061_ZOO-1999, Animal HealthSpecifications for Food Products for Animal Consumption, published in the Diario Oficial
de la Federación  (Official Journal) on 11 October 2000.
The use of other beta-agonists which have not been assessed by or registered with
the Ministry puts animal and public health at risk.
In the light of the risks to animal and public health presented by the use in food
products for animal consumption of some be ta-agonists which have not been assessed or
authorized by the Ministry, it is essential that restrictive measures be implemented
immediately.
Residues of some beta-agonists in animal tissue can present a major risk to the
health both of animals and of the people who consume them.
The indiscriminate use, high concentrations and prolonged half-life of some beta-
agonists may have harmful consequences for public health.
To prevent the production, manufacture, making, processing, preparation,
packaging, transport, trade in, marketing, sale, purchase, acquisition, disposal, import and
supply, even free of charge, of these compounds, the Ministry must encourage, coordinateand monitor compliance with the provisions of this Standard and sanction non-compliance.
Emergency Mexican Official Standard NOM-EM-015-ZOO-2002, Technical Specifications
for Controlling the Use of Beta-Agonists in Animals, has been issued with a view to
achieving the above objectives, which are of undeniable public and social interest.
8. An international standard, guideline or recommendation does not exist [  X ].
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give its appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  Diario Oficial de la
Federación  (Official Journal), 1 March 2002  (available in Spanish).
10. Date of entry into force/period of application (as applicable):  This Standard will enter
into force on the day following publication in the Official Journal (2 March 2002) and willbe valid for six months.
11. Texts available from/and agency or authority designated to handle comments:
[ X ] National notification authority, [     ] National enquiry point or address, fax
number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:
Web site:  www.economia-normas.gob.mx  (Standards catalogue)