Page 1 of 7 Attachment 14 -1: Quarantine Requirements for the Importation of Pork Products 
from Japan  
 (Draft ) 
 
Note:  In case of any discrepancy between  the Chinese text and the English translation of these Requirements, the 
Chinese text shall govern.  
 
 
Article 1   
Definition:  
1.1 The countries (zones) f ree and not free from designated infectious animal 
diseases : The free countries (zones) refers to those that have been recognized by 
the central competent  authority as being free from foot and mouth disease 
(FMD), African swine fever (ASF), and classical swine fever (CSF) pursuant to 
Paragraph 1, Article 33 of the "Statute for Prevention and Control of Infectious 
Animal Diseases" ; except for above -mentioned  countries (zones), other countries 
(zones) are deemed as not being free . 
1.2 Pork : The term refers to the raw meat including carcasses, meat and internal 
organs derived from pig for human consumption.  
1.3 Pork products : The term  refer s to the products manufactured by using pork  as 
ingredient and processed by heat processing.  
1.4 Designated establishment : The term  refers to establishment s producing pork or 
pork products, which include slaughterhouses, cutting plants, and processing 
plants . 
 
Article 2  
2.1 The criteria of pork slaughtering hygiene shall comply with the relevant 
requirements of the importing country and the pork shall originate from 
designated slaughterhouse approved by the import/export animal quarantine 
authority.  
2.2 Designated estab lishments shall implement a Hazard Analysis and  Critical Control Page 2 of 7 Points (HACCP) system for meat sanitation and food safety.  
 
Article 3  
3.1 The p igs slaughtered in the designated slaughterhouse shall be born and raised in 
Japan.  
3.2 Article 3.1 is not applied for pigs imported from a third country (zone) , which 
comply with the following requirements:  
3.2.1 The third country (zone) shall be recognized as being free from the designated 
infectious animal diseases;  
3.2.2 The pigs shall be born and raised in the third country  (zone ). 
3.2.3 The pigs have been examined by the competent authority of the third country 
and found without clinical signs of any infectious animal disease ; and  
3.2.4 The pigs shall be transported from the third country (zone) into Japan directly 
or passed through the dise ase-free country (zone)  and shall be kept isolated 
from any other animals without mix -loaded during the transportation.  
3.3 The pigs  designated in  Articles 3.1 and 3.2  shall pass ante -mortem and 
post -mortem inspection by the inspectors dispatched by the competent authority 
of Japan , and the pork shall be eligible for human consumption.  
 
Article 4 
4.1 The pork that is cut, processed and stored in the designated establishments shall 
be slaughtered in Japan.  
4.2 Article 4.1 is not applied for pork as ingredient slaughtered in a third country 
(zone) , which complies with the following requirements:  
4.2.1 The third country (zone) shall be recognized as being free from the designated 
infectious animal diseases;  
4.2.2 The pork shall be derived from pigs born and rai sed in the thi rd country (zone) ; 
4.2.3 The pork shall originate from the designated establishments approved by the 
import/exp ort animal quarantine authority ; and  
4.2.4 The pork shall be transported from the third country into Japan directly or shall 
be packed in a closed container without opening during transportation.  Page 3 of 7 4.2.5 The pork shall be inspected for quarantine and approved by the competent 
authority of Japan  when importing into Japan . After the inspection, the 
approved pork shall be transported into the designated establishments fo r 
cutting or processing directly.  
 
Article 5 
5.1 To import pork products to the importing  country, the competent authority of 
Japan shall submit the application and the documents filled out by the 
designated processing plant to the import/export animal quarantine authority for 
review , and the import/export animal quarantine authority shall dispatch 
inspectors to Japan to conduct on -site audit to confirm that designated 
processing plant  compl ies with  the requirements.  
5.2 The designated processing plant menti oned in Article 5.1 shall be approved by 
the competent authority of Japan for manufacturing processed pork products.  
5.3 Based on the review process for the documents mentioned in Article 5.1  and the  
results from the on -site audit, the import/export animal qua rantine authority 
may approve the pork products produced by the designated processing plant 
after confirm the designated processing plant  comply ing with  the requirements.  
5.4 The expenses of on -site audit in Article 5.1 shall be shouldered by Japan 
according to relevant regulations.  
 
Article 6 
Pork products shall be heat -treated during the manufacturing process. The heat 
treatment shall comply with one of the following requirements:  
6.1 The temperature at the core of the pork products shall reach 70 ℃ or more for at 
least 30 minutes;  
6.2 Other heat -treatments achiev ing equivalent efficacy of inactivating pathogens  
with treatments indicated in Article 6.1  and recognized by the import/export 
animal quarantine authority  are also allowed . 
 
Article 7 Page 4 of 7 7.1 The design ated processing plant shall record the original information of the origin 
of pork, dates of heat processing, temperature and time of heat treatment, 
quantity of production, and dates and amount of each shipment  in detail . The 
record shall be kept for at le ast two years.  
7.2 The designated processing plant shall confirm the measures for preventing the 
hazard occurrence and the effectiveness for the heat -processing procedure at 
least once a month  and make the record . The record shall be kept for at least two 
year s. 
 
Article 8 
The competent authority of Japan shall provide the sample of the veterinary 
certificate and official stamp for approval by the import/export animal quarantine 
authority before it can be used.  
 
Article 9 
9.1 The competent authority of Japan shall dispatch veterinarians or food sanitation 
inspectors to the designated processing plant to conduct inspections at least 
once every 6 months and make the record. Once any non -compliance with  the 
quarantine requirement s are found, the competent authority of Japan must 
immediately suspend  importation of the pork products to the importing  country  
and notify the import/export animal quarantine authority. After the correction of 
the found non-compliance is completed, the competen t authority of Japan shall 
notify the import/export animal quarantine authority.  
9.2 The record indicated  in Article 9.1 shall be kept for at least two years.  
 
Article 10 
10.1 The import/export animal quarantine authority may dispatch inspectors to 
conduct an on-site re -inspection if necessary. If Japan does not accept the 
inspection , or any non -compliance with the quarantine requirements is found 
during the inspection, the import/export animal quarantine authority may 
suspend the importation of pork products from Japan or from the relevant Page 5 of 7 designated processing plant.  
10.2 The expenses of the re -inspection  indicated in Article 10.1  shall be shouldered 
by Japan according to relevant regulations.  
 
Article 11 
11.1 If the designated processing plant intends to make any  changes or alterations  
to one of the items listed below  to the separation, heat -processing equipment 
or relevant flow line, the competent authority of Japan shall submit the 
application to the import/export animal quarantine authority for approval. 
When the alterations are completed, the competent authority of  Japan shall 
submit a completion report to the import/export animal quarantine authority 
for review :  
11.1.1  The alteration for the number of the heat -processing equipment or the 
replacement of the heat -processing equipment.  
11.1.2  Reconstructions for the inner wall tha t separate the pre -heating processing 
area and post -heating processing area.  
11.1.3  A reconstruction for the pre -heating processing area or post -heating 
processing area that cause  the change of the flow lines of worker's, raw 
materials and/or product.  
11.1.4  The alterat ion for the purpose of operation area in the designated processing 
plant.  
11.1.5  A reconstruction concerning the outer wall.  
11.1.6  An enlargement which involves a construction which is not totally 
independent from the designated processing plant.  
11.1.7  An enlargement which i nvolves a construction which shares a registration 
number, name, address etc. of designated processing plant.  
11.2 The competent authority of Japan shall suspend the importation of the pork 
products  to the importing country  that were manufactur ed in the designated 
processing plant after the starting of the alterations. If the completion reports 
are accepted by the import/export animal quarantine authority, the pork 
products  manufactur ed by the designated processing plant may be allowed to Page 6 of 7 resume import ation. The import/export animal quarantine authority may 
dispatch inspectors to conduct on -site re -inspection for the designated 
processing plant according to Article 10.  
11.3 The competent authority of Japan shall notify the import/export animal 
quarantine author ity when the registration number, name, or address of the 
designated processing plant is changed.  
 
Article 12 
The pork products shall not be contaminated by pathogenic organisms of infectious 
animal diseases in the designated processing plant or procedures  of transportation, 
and shall be shipped in clean and sanitary containers. The registration numbers of the 
designated processing plant  shall be indicated on the surface of the package of the 
pork products . 
 
Article 13 
The process of the consignment transpo rted to the importing country shall comply 
with the “Regulations of Import Quarantine Operation for Animal Products 
Transported by Closed Container”.  
 
Article 14 
14.1 Once outbreaks of FMD or ASF occur in Japan, the competent authority of 
Japan must immediately notify the import/export animal quarantine authority.  
14.2 The pork products could resume importation to the importing country  when 
the competent authority of Japan and the import/export animal quarantine 
authority reach a consensus.  
 
Article 15 
Each consignment shall be accompanied by an original veterinary certificate issued by 
the competent authority of Japan . The certificate shall state the following information 
in English or Chinese:  
15.1 Name and address of the importer and exporter ; Page 7 of 7 15.2 Name, add ress and registration number of the designed slaughterhouse and 
designed processing plant ; 
15.3 Names, amount of packages and weight of the pork products ; 
15.4 Date of slaughter for pork , date of heat processing and heating temperature 
and time which fulfill the req uirements stipulated in Article 6 for pork products.  
15.5 If the pork originates from pigs imported from a third country or the pork is 
imported from a third country, the name of the third country or the designated 
establishment  shall be stated;  
15.6 Numbers of c ontainer s and seal s; and  
15.7 Date, place, name and official stamp of the issuing authority, and printed name 
and signature of the issuing veterinary officer.