Health Certificate for Export of Food Products: Understanding the Basics

A health certificate is a document issued by a Export inspection council of India or relevant certifying authority. The product must meet the health & safety standards set by the importing country. It is a mandatory requirement for exporting food products to many countries around the world.

As more and more countries open up to international trade, the demand for high-quality and safe food products is increasing. Exporting food products requires compliance with a set of regulations, including obtaining a health certificate. Lets dive further, to learn more about health certificates for export of food products.

The food safety standard authority of India has issued guidelines for importers of various products to get health certificates for their imported food consignment. The step is taken in order to regulate the quality standard of imported food in India. As per the guidelines of FSSAI all the importers of following products now required to produce health certificate form their exporters.

• Milk and Milk Products
• Pork and Pork Products
• Fish and Fish products

The exporter of food products has to provide the following documents for issuance of the Health Certificate for their export consignment.

• IEC Code certificate
• Copy of Invoice
• Letter of Credit
• Copy of Purchase Order
• Bank draft of the requisite fee
• Application for issuance of Health Certificate
• Test report of Food Products intended for export issued by EIA labs or EIC-approved labs
• Test report from the EIA-approved unit, as per importing countries’ standards or National Standard
• Contractual Specification as agreed between Importer and Exporter.

The health certificate is valid for upto 90 days after the date of issuance

Exporters of marine products and meat products are required to obtain a health certificate for their consignment from the Export Inspection Council of India and APEDA in case of meat products.

These are the following steps involved for getting the health certificate for export

1.Details & Documentation:

Applicants are required to provide all the related documents and basic details during the filing of application on the respective portal.

2.Filing of application:

Once all the details and documents are provided the application duly be filed along with all the relevant documents.

3.Submission of fee:

The application fee should be submitted along with the application form.

4.Issuance of License

Once the application is submitted successfully, authorities will verify all the details and documents only after the verification the certificate will be issued.

The requirements for health certificates vary by country and food product. However, there are some common requirements that exporters must comply with.

These include:

• Identification of the exporter and importer.
• Description and quantity of the food product.
• Evidence of compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
• Results of laboratory tests for contaminants, pesticides, and other substances.
• Certification of production processes and facilities.
• Details of the inspection and certification process.

The health certificate is essential when exporting food products to ensure they meet health and safety standards. Compliance with regulations, including obtaining a health certificate, is mandatory. Requirements for health certificates vary by country and product, but exporters must meet standard criteria, including identification of the exporter and importer.