Export certificate for food of animal origin
Last update
When exporting food of animal origin from Luxembourg to a third country exporters must check the health requirements and regulations that apply in the country of destination.
A health certificate that meets the requirements of the country to which the goods are exported is required in order to:
- ensure the product's traceability;
- verify compliance with specific hygiene standards; and
- avoid the transmission of diseases or parasites.
In Luxembourg, this certificate is issued by the Luxembourg Veterinary and Food Administration (Administration luxembourgeoise vétérinaire et alimentaire - ALVA).
The procedures to be carried out depend on:
- the product type; and
- the country of destination of the goods.
Who is concerned
Any food business ( whether a natural or legal person) that:
- carries out a production, processing or distribution activity; and
- exports food products of animal origin for human consumption.
The notion of food of animal origin destined for human consumption covers food of animal origin or derived from animals, whether it has been processed or not.
Example: milk, meat, eggs, fish or honey. Live animals such as crawfish or bivalve molluscs destined for consumption can also be included.
Composite products require an export health certificate if their composition is mostly of animal origin.
Example: sausage must be accompanied by a health certificate. Lasagne with only 10 % meat does not require a health certificate.
However, it is the country of destination which determines whether a health certificate is required or not.
Prerequisites
Preliminary steps
In order to receive access to the online application forms, your business eSpace in MyGuichet.lu must be certified (see under 'Forms / Online services' below) by the Luxembourg Veterinary and Food Administration (ALVA).
To have your business eSpace certified, you must attach:
- a certification from the employer attesting that the employee has power of signature and acts in the interest and on behalf of the company (scanned document in PDF format);
- a copy of the company's business permit (scanned document in PDF format).
Before applying, businesses must check the following elements for each country of destination of the goods:
- the existence of an embargo or a particular restriction on the product concerned;
- the health rules in force;
- the need to provide a certificate of origin which must accompany the health certificate;
- documentary requirements, namely if there is a specific certificate for the product and the country concerned or if a general certificate is enough.
In some cases, foreign authorities require prior approval of the exporting establishment or a specific registration based on an assessment of this establishment by its supervisory authority.
Deadlines
How to proceed
Filing an application
The applicant must send an application for a health certificate to the Luxembourg Veterinary and Food Administration (ALVA) via MyGuichet.lu (see 'Forms / Online services' below) to obtain the following certificates:
- certificate for fishery products;
- certificate for meat-based products;
- certificate for fresh meat;
- certificate for dairy products for third countries;
- certificate for milk.
ALVA may ask the exporter to attach additional documents to their application (e.g. test results).
For dairy products, the language in which the certificate is issued can be chosen based on the country of destination: French and English, French and Arabic, Chinese or English only.
In other cases, the applicant must consult the competent authorities of the country of destination on their language requirements. The applicant then contacts ALVA to evaluate the situation.
Conditions for granting
Food of animal origin entering a foreign market must comply with the Luxembourg or European standards.
They shall check:
- the hygiene of foodstuffs;
- the respect of cold temperatures and the cold chain;
- compliance with microbiological criteria;
- the existence of a Hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP method);
- the registration of the establishment of production, processing or distribution of foods.
- the specific rules applicable to food of animal origin.
If the third country requires different standards or if there is a bilateral agreement between the European Union and the third country or between Luxembourg and the third country, a veterinarian of the Luxembourg Veterinary and Food Administration (ALVA) specifically checks these conditions.
In this case, ALVA conducts on-site inspections or may request the result of laboratory analyses. ALVA then certifies that the test results are correct.
If the goods meet the standards, ALVA issues a health certificate and submits it to the applicant in person or by mail depending on the option chosen.
Conditions for refusal
The Luxembourg Veterinary and Food Administration (ALVA) refuses to issue the certificate if the results of the analyses are not in conformity.
If the destination country requires analyses that are not required by EU law and therefore are not applicable on the products in question, ALVA provides a certificate crossing out the analyses that have not been certified.
The applicant must check with the destination country if the certificate is acceptable in this form. If it is not, the goods can be refused by the destination country.
Online services and forms
Online services
Who to contact
Luxembourg Veterinary and Food Administration (ALVA)
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Luxembourg Veterinary and Food Administration (ALVA)
- Address:
- 7, rue Thomas Edison L-1445 Strassen Luxembourg
- Email address:
- info@alva.etat.lu
Related procedures and links
Links
Further information
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Access2Markets
on the website of the European Commission
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Animal products
on the Single Window for Logistics portal
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Food
on the Single Window for Logistics portal
Legal references
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Règlement grand-ducal du 8 janvier 2008
fixant certaines modalités d'application du règlement (CE) n° 1760/2000 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 17 juillet 2000 en ce qui concerne l'étiquetage de la viande bovine et des produits à base de viande bovine et du règlement (CE) n° 700/2007 du Conseil du 11 juin 2007 relatif à la commercialisation de la viande issue de bovins âgés de douze mois au plus
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Règlement grand-ducal du 19 décembre 2008
déterminant les modalités d'application et les sanctions des dispositions: 1. du règlement (CE) n° 178/2002 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 28 janvier 2002 établissant les principes généraux et les prescriptions générales de la législation alimentaire, instituant l'Autorité européenne de sécurité des aliments et fixant des procédures relatives à la sécurité des denrées alimentaires; 2. du règlement (CE) n° 852/2004 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 29 avril 2004 relatif à l'hygiène des denrées alimentaires; 3. du règlement (CE) n° 853/2004 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 29 avril 2004 fixant des règles spécifiques d'hygiène applicables aux denrées alimentaires d'origine animale; 4. du règlement (CE) n° 854/2004 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 29 avril 2004 fixant les règles spécifiques d'organisation des contrôles officiels concernant les produits d'origine animale destinés à la consommation humaine
