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Food Products
The following sections contain a checklist of the information that must be included with an application to import various food products:
- Products containing greater than 10 per cent dairy
- Products containing greater than 10 per cent egg
- Meat products (excluding uncanned pigmeat)
- Uncanned pigmeat
- Fish and seafood products
Products containing greater than 10 per cent dairy
The following information MUST accompany all applications to import food products with greater than 10 per cent dairy content:
- Complete list of ingredients including percentage of each ingredient to add up to 100 per cent (please include water)
- Species and country of origin of dairy ingredients
- Pasteurisation details (or equivalent treatments)
- Packaging details (e.g. can, retort pouch, vacuum bag, hermetically sealed container etc.)
For retorted* products, the following information is also required:
- Core temperature the packaged product has been exposed to and the duration held at this core temperature (e.g. core temperature of 121 degrees celsius for 30 minutes).
*Retorted means the final product is in a hermetically sealed (airtight) container and has been heat treated (retorted) within this container so that the final product is shelf stable (not requiring refrigeration).
Please note: The above information should be supplied on a manufacturer’s declaration. The declaration should be:
- from the manufacturer
- on manufacturer’s letterhead (including company address and country)
- signed by a senior company employee from the site of manufacture whose name, title and contact details also appear
- dated and free from erasures and uncertified alterations (all alterations must be initialled by the senior company employee responsible for signing the declaration)
- written in English.
Products containing greater than 10 per cent egg
The following information MUST accompany all applications to import food products with greater than 10 per cent egg content:
- Complete list of ingredients including percentage of each ingredient to add up to 100 per cent (please include water)
- Details of how the egg has been processed either prior to, or during incorporation in to the product. Where products are heat treated, the information must include the core temperature and the duration held at this core temperature for any heat treatments the product is subject to.
- Presence/absence of discernable pieces of egg.
- Packaging details (e.g. can, retort pouch, vacuum bag, hermetically sealed container etc.)
For retorted* products, the following information is also required:
- Core temperature the packaged product has been exposed to and the duration held at this core temperature (e.g. core temperature of 121 degrees celsius for 30 minutes).
*Retorted means the final product is in a hermetically sealed (airtight) container and has been heat treated (retorted) within this container so that the final product is shelf stable (not requiring refrigeration).
Please note: The above information should be supplied on a manufacturer’s declaration. The declaration should be:
- from the manufacturer
- on manufacturer’s letterhead (including company address and country)
- signed by a senior company employee from the site of manufacture whose name, title and contact details also appear
- dated and free from erasures and uncertified alterations (all alterations must be initialled by the senior company employee responsible for signing the declaration)
- written in English.
Meat products (excluding uncanned pigmeat)
The following information MUST accompany all applications to import meat products.
Meat based flavours / canned meat:
- Complete list of ingredients including percentage of each ingredient to add up to 100 per cent (please include water)
- Species of origin of all animal derived ingredients (e.g. beef, pork, chicken, etc)
- Country of origin of all animal derived ingredients
- Type of product (flavour with no meat pieces, canned meat product etc)
- Manufacturing/processing details, including details of how the meat has been processed either prior to, or during incorporation into the product. Where products are heat treated, the information must include the core temperature and the duration held at this core temperature for any heat treatments the product is subject to
- The country each heat treatment has occurred in
- Packaging details (e.g. can, retort pouch, vacuum bag, hermetically sealed container etc.).
For retorted* products, the following information is also required:
- Core temperature the packaged product has been exposed to and the duration held at this core temperature (e.g. core temperature of 121 degrees celsius for 30 minutes).
*Retorted means the final product is in a hermetically sealed (airtight) container and has been heat treated (retorted) within this container so that the final product is shelf stable (not requiring refrigeration).
Please note: The above information should be supplied on a manufacturer’s declaration. The declaration should be:
- from the manufacturer
- on manufacturer’s letterhead (including company address and country)
- signed by a senior company employee from the site of manufacture whose name, title and contact details also appear
- dated and free from erasures and uncertified alterations (all alterations must be initialled by the senior company employee responsible for signing the declaration)
- written in English.
Uncanned meat products:
- Complete list of ingredients including percentage of each ingredient to add up to 100 per cent (please include water)
- Species of origin of all animal derived ingredients (e.g. beef, pork, chicken, etc)
- Country of origin of all animal derived ingredients
- Processing details, including the core temperature the product has been exposed to and the duration held at this core temperature (if relevant).
In some circumstances the following information may also be required to accompany applications to import uncanned meat products:
- Veterinary control/approval numbers of the slaughter and processing establishments.
Please note: The above information should be supplied on a manufacturer’s declaration. The declaration should be:
- from the manufacturer
- on manufacturer’s letterhead (including company address and country)
- signed by a senior company employee from the site of manufacture whose name, title and contact details also appear
- dated and free from erasures and uncertified alterations (all alterations must be initialled by the senior company employee responsible for signing the declaration)
- written in English.
Uncanned pigmeat
The following information MUST accompany all applications to import uncanned pigmeat products.
Pigmeat – cooked (uncanned):
- Country of origin
- Name and address of the importer and exporter
- Name and veterinary control number of the approved abattoir and, if applicable, approved cutting-up establishment, approved processing establishment and approved storage establishment in the source country
- Cut or cuts (trade description) of the meat/product to be imported
- Details of heat treatment, described as the minimum core temperature obtained and the duration for which the core temperature is maintained.
Pigmeat – uncooked:
- Country of origin
- Name and address of the importer and exporter
- Name and veterinary control number of the approved abattoir and, if applicable, approved cutting-up establishment, approved processing establishment and approved storage establishment in the source country
- Cut or cuts (trade description) of the meat/product to be imported.
Fish and seafood products
The following information MUST accompany all applications to import fish and seafood products.
Salmon and salmon products:
- Full scientific name and common name
- Form of fish (e.g. head on, gilled, gutted, skin on etc)
- Country of origin
- Country of processing facility
- Details of any heat treatments
- Registration Form (for companies processing salmon in quantities less than 300kg per day only).
Finfish for human consumption:
- Full scientific name and common name of each fish species
- Country(s) of origin (each country must be listed)
- Country(s) of export (each country must be listed)
- Information regarding the level of processing (ie. whole or eviscerated, head-on or head-off)
- Information on how the product is sourced (wild caught or farmed).
Prawns (uncooked):
- Processing (e.g. whole; head-off; peeled (tail on or tail off); marinated; breaded or battered)
- Country(s) of origin (each country must be listed)
- Country(s) of export (each country must be listed).
The following information will also be required for ‘highly processed’ prawn products e.g. breaded or battered, marinated.
- Full list of ingredients including percentage of each ingredient to add up to 100 per cent
- The commercial product names for all products (including brand name)
- Two photographs of each product in the application; one of the product when frozen and one of the product when thawed.
Please note: cooked or dried prawns do not require an Import Permit. Please refer to ICON for import conditions that apply.