WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/CRI/34 
17 October 2005 
 (05-4744) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   Spanish 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA
 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):  
2. Agency responsible: 
Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio - MEIC (Ministry of the Economy, Industry 
and Trade) Órgano de Reglamentación Técnica  (Technical Regulation Body) 
Tel.: (+506) 297-1439 or (+506) 235-2700, ext. 265 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, e-mail and web-site 
addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be  indicated if different from above: 
TBT Enquiry Point 
Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio - MEIC 
Apartado Postal 10216-1000 Tel.: (+506) 235-2700, ext. 206/203 Fax: (+506) 297-1439 E-mail: crotc@meic.go.cr  Website: www.reglatec.go.cr 
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [  X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):   Tariff heading 
0407.00.90 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   Costa Rican 
Technical Regulation (RTCR) No. ___:  2003:  Huevos Frescos o Refrigerados de Gallina 
para Consumo Humano  (Fresh and chilled hens' eggs for human consumption) (14 pages, in 
Spanish). 
6. Description of content:   The aim of this Technical Regul ation is to establish the quality, 
safety, packaging and labelling characteristics and requirements for local or imported fresh or chilled hens' eggs for human consumption, offered to the e nd consumer, catering trade or 
industry in the country at the time of shipment or sale, irrespective of production method, and which can be classified in either of the following categories: 
1. Fresh eggs for human consumption (catering trade or industrial use), in shell; 
2. Chilled eggs for human consumption (cater ing trade or industrial use), in shell. G/TBT/N/CRI/34 
Page 2  
 
 7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:  
 Protection of health and prevention of practices likely to mislead or deceive the 
consumer. 
8. Relevant documents:  
(1) Mexican Ministry of Health, Mexican Official Standard NOM-159-SSA1-1996: 
Bienes y servicios, huevos, sus productos y derivados, disposiciones y 
especificaciones sanitarias  (Goods and services, eggs  and egg products and 
derivatives, health specifications and provisions), December 1999; 
(2) Mexican  Ministry of Trade; General Directorate of Standards (DGN), Mexican 
standard NMX-FF-079-1991: Productos Avícolas - Huevo Fresco de Gallina - 
Especificaciones  (Poultry products - Fresh hens' eggs - Specifications), 
January 1992; 
(3) COGUANOR (Guatemalan Standards Commission), Guatemalan Mandatory 
Standard (NGO) No. 34209:99: Huevos de Gallina Frescos y Refrigerados para 
Consumo Humano  (Fresh and chilled hens' e ggs for human consumption), 
January 1999; 
(4) Mario Murillo, AZ-403, Estructura y composición del huevo, clasificación de 
huevos por calidad  (Egg structure and composition, egg grading by quality); 
(5) Commission of the European Communities, Regulation (EC) No 1907/1990 on 
marketing standards for eggs, June 1990. 
(6) Commission of the European Communities, Regulation (EC) No 2295/2003 on 
marketing standards for eggs, December 2003; 
(7) Laboratorio Costarricense de Metrol ogía  LACOMET (Costa Rican Metrology 
Laboratory), Informe Estudio de Análisis de Tolerancia de Peso del Huevo 
Preempacado  (Prepacked egg weight tolerance analysis study report), June 2004; 
(8) Roche Vitaminas S.A., Departamento de  Industrias Primarias, Nutrición y Salud 
Animal (Department of Primary In dustries, Nutrition and Health), Manual Práctico 
Calidad de Huevo 1995  (Practical manual on egg quality, 1995); 
(9) United States Department of Agricu lture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Egg 
Grading Manual,  Handbook No. 75; 
(10) Bacteriological Analytical Manual , 1998, 8th Edition, Revision A, Association of 
Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) International; 
(11) Vanderzant, C. and Splittstoesser, D.F. 1992, Compendium of Methods for the 
Microbiological Examination of Foods , 3rd edition, American Public Health 
Association, Washington D.C., Chapter 4: Colony Count Methods. 
9. Proposed date of adoption: 
Proposed date of entry into force:  To be determined 
In force for three months after publication in the 
Official Journal La Gaceta . 
10. Final date for comments:   60 days as of the date of notification.  G/TBT/N/CRI/34 
 Page 3 
 
 
 11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  X ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body: 
Centro de Información de Obst áculos Técnicos al Comercio 
Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio - MEIC Apartado Postal 10216-1000 
Tel.:  (+506) 235-2700, ext. 206/203 
Fax:  (+506) 297-1439 E-mail:  crotc@meic.go.cr  Website: www.reglatec.go.cr