Page 1 of 7 Attachment 14 -3: Quarantine Requirements for the Importation of Pork Products 
from Japan  
 
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 establishments shall implement a Hazard Analysis and  Critical Control 
Points (HACCP) system for meat sanitation and food safety.  Page 2 of 7  
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 n ot 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 thir d 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 disease -free country (zone)  and shall be kept isolated from 
any other animals without mix -loaded during  transport . 
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 in the third country 
(zone) approved by the import/exp ort animal quarantine authority ; and  
4.2.4 The pork shall be transported from the third country  (zone)  into Japan directly . 
The pork transported from the third country into Japan passing through the third 
countries (zones) not free from the designated infectious animal diseases  shall Page 3 of 7 be packed in a closed container without it being open ed during transport.  
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 for 
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 mentioned in Article 5.1 shall be approved by the 
competent authori ty of Japan for manufacturing 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 quarantine authority may 
approve the pork products produced by the designat ed 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 . 
 Page 4 of 7 Article 7 
7.1 The designated processing plant shall record the o riginal 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 least 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 years.  
 
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 veter inarians 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 
imm ediately 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 competent authority of Japan shall 
notify the import/exp ort 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 approved by the import/export animal 
quarantine authority according to Article 5.1 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 designa ted 
processing plant after the starting of the alterations. If the completion reports 
submitted according to Article 11.1 are accepted by the import/export animal Page 6 of 7 quarantine authority, the pork products  manufactur ed by the designated 
processing plant may be allowed to 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 auth ority of Japan shall notify the import/export animal 
quarantine authority 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 infec tious 
animal diseases in the designated processing plant or procedures of transport, 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 transported  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 a nd the import/export animal quarantine 
authority reach a consensus  regarding the conditions stated in  Article 14.1 . 
 
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:  Page 7 of 7 15.1 Name and address of the importer and exporter ; 
15.2 Name, address 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 requirements 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.