Agricultural Quality Assessment Division QAD 1031A Procedure 

Marketing 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Stop 0258 April 1, 2019

Service Washington, DC 20250 Page 1 of 3 

 

 Date Issued 06/23/04

 Date Revised 04/01/19 

USDA EXPORT VERIFICATION (EV) PROGRAM: 

SPECIFIED PRODUCT REQUIREMENTS FOR OVINE AND CAPRINE - 

JAPAN

1 Purpose

This document provides the specified product requirements for marketing U.S. ovine and caprine 

items to Japan under the USDA Export Verification (EV) Program. This Program facilitates the 

international trade of U.S. ovine and caprine meat and meat products and provides the additional 

requirements for the USDA Quality System Assessment (QSA) for marketing Ovine and Caprine 

meat to Japan.

2 Scope

These requirements apply to U.S. suppliers (harvests, fabricators, and processors) of ovine and/or 

caprine meat and meat products including fresh, frozen, bone-in, boneless, offal, and variety meat 

items that are eligible for export to Japan as listed on the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) 

website. Suppliers who wish to label and sell product as meeting the specified product 

requirements for ovine and/or caprine under this Program must meet these requirements through an 

approved USDA Quality System Assessment (QSA) Program. The requirements for the USDA 

QSA Program are defined in QAD 1002 Procedure: Quality System Assessment (QSA) Program. 

The QSA Program ensures that the specified product requirements are supported by a documented 

quality management system; and that product is identified and traceable through the system. 

Only companies with an approved USDA QSA Program for the EV Program may label and sell 

product as meeting the specified product requirements for export. As an alternative to the USDA

QSA Program, companies may apply the requirements of the USDA Process Verified Program to 

meet the specified product requirements. The requirements of the USDA Process Verified Program 

are defined in QAD 1001 Procedure: USDA Process Verified Program (PVP). 

3 References 

QAD 1000 Procedure: Quality Systems Verification Programs General Policies and Procedures

QAD 1001 Procedure: USDA Process Verified Program (PVP)

QAD 1002 Procedure: Quality System Assessment (QSA) Program

QAD 1030: EV Programs Additional Requirements 

USDA FSIS: Export Library – Requirements by Country website

Official Listing of Eligible Suppliers to the USDA Ovine and Caprine EV Program
Agricultural Quality Assessment Division QAD 1031A Procedure 

Marketing 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Stop 0258 April 1, 2019

Service Washington, DC 20250 Page 2 of 3 

 

 Date Issued 06/23/04

 Date Revised 04/01/19 

4 Specified Product Requirements

Ovine and caprine meat and meat products for export from the U.S. to Japan must be derived from 

animals that meet the following requirements, or from imported meat products into the U.S. that 

meet certain requirements: 

4.1 The exported meat and meat products derived from sheep and goat (ovine and 

caprine) to Japan must be derived from (A) animals that were born and raised only in 

the U.S., or from animals legally imported into the U.S. from a country recognized 

by the Japanese animal health authorities as the third free countries for cloven hoofed 

animals and meat or the eligible countries in BSE affected countries as listed on the 

FSIS’s Export Library website or (B) from meat legally imported into the U.S. from 

a designated facility in a country recognized by the Japanese animal health 

authorities as eligible to export ovine and/or caprine meat to Japan and shipped 

directly to the U.S port-of-entry. If transported through countries other than the third 

free countries or the eligible countries in BSE affected countries as identified on the 

current lists available on FSIS Export Library website, the imported meat must be 

transported in an officially sealed container. Once inspected and passed by FSIS, the 

shipment of imported meat must transfer directly to the designated facility in the 

U.S.

4.2 Removal of prohibited materials

4.2.1 Head (including tonsils, and excluding tongue, cheek and skins) and spinal 

cord of ovine and caprine animals over 12 months of age; and 

4.2.2 Spleen and ileum of ovine and caprine animals of all ages. The ileum is 

described as the straight, terminal part of the small intestine passing cranially 

ventral to the cecum, to which it is connected by the ileocecal fold and enters 

the large intestine on the ventromedial surface of the cecocolic junction.

4.3 Animals are traceable to live production records which indicate they are less than 12 

months of age at the time of harvest; or carcasses do not exhibit the dental 

characteristic of the eruption of a permanent incisor through the gum, as determined 

during the harvest process.

4.4 For a listing of eligible products, refer to the USDA FSIS: Export Library – 

Requirements by Country website. 

4.5 Carcasses, Ovine and Caprine meat, and meat products must be uniquely identified 

and controlled up until the time of shipment. 

5 Shipping Documentation
Agricultural Quality Assessment Division QAD 1031A Procedure 

Marketing 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Stop 0258 April 1, 2019

Service Washington, DC 20250 Page 3 of 3 

Date Issued 06/23/04

Date Revised 04/01/19 

5.1 Identification of conforming product during shipment and delivery must be 

documented on the shipping documentation (bills of lading, shipping manifests, or 

letters of guarantee). The shipping documentation must: 

5.1.1 Clearly identify the product and product quantity; and 

5.1.2 Contain the statement:

5.1.2.1 “Product Meets EV Program Requirements for Japan” – This 

statement is used for finished items that are eligible for export; or 

5.1.2.2 “Product meets EV Program Requirements for Japan excluding final 

production/processing requirements” – This statement is used for items that 

must be further processed to meet all requirements prior to being eligible for 

export. 

6 Responsibilities

U.S. suppliers must meet all policies and procedures outlined in this procedure, QAD 1000 

Procedure: Quality Systems Verification Program General Policies and Procedures, and QAD 1002 

Procedure: Quality System Assessment (QSA) Program. 

7 Listing of Approved Programs 

Only U.S. suppliers that have an approved USDA QSA Program which meets the specified product 

requirements for this Program will be listed on the Official Listing of Eligible Suppliers to the 

USDA Ovine and Caprine EV Program. 

________________________________

Jeffery Waite, Branch Chief

Quality Assessment Division

Livestock and Poultry Program

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