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Trade Facilitation Unit - Beef

The Bahamas currently has conditions to allow the importation of bovine and bovine products from various countries. Having conducted an import risk analysis (IRA) that considers quarantine risks that may be associated with the importation of bovine and bovine products from any country, the IRA recommends that the importation of bovine and bovine products to The Bahamas could be permitted subject to compliance with Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures to manage the quarantine risks of a range of significant diseases to a very low level, in line with WOAH guidelines. The IRA assessed all potential disease agents that may be introduced to The Bahamas via the importation of bovine and bovine products and SPS measures. These diseases include Bovine anaplasmosis, Bovine babesiosis, Bovine genital campylobacteriosis, Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC (Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia), Enzootic bovine leukosis, Haemorrhagic septicaemia (Pasteurella multocida serotypes 6:b and 6:e), Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis/ infectious pustular vulvovaginitis, Lumpy skin disease virus, Theileria annulata, T. orientalis and T. parva, and Trichomonosis.

Based on this risk assessment The Bahamas Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority (BAHFSA) has developed conditions of import for bovine and bovine product consignments. They are outlined below. All consignments of bovine and bovine products must:

  1. Meet the labelling requirements prescribed in Section 23 of the Bahamas Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority (BAHFSA), Food Safety and Quality Act (2016) in Appendix 1.
  2. Meet the import conditions for bovine and bovine products in Appendix 2.

Appendix 1

Labelling and Advertising

  1. No person shall offer for sale in The Bahamas any package of food unless the label thereon—
    1. is written in English;
    2. specifies the product name;
    3. specifies the date of manufacture and expiration;
    4. permits the traceability of the food as prescribed in regulations; and
    5. sets out such particulars as may be prescribed in regulations.
  2. Where food that is not packaged is displayed for sale, it shall bear an identification mark.
  3. The Director shall prescribe requirements for food advertising in accordance with applicable legislation.
  4. Any foods not in compliance with the requirements under this section shall be confiscated by the Director.
  5. Any person selling food in contravention of this section commits an offence and shall be liable to a fixed penalty as prescribed by regulations.

Appendix 2

Conditions for Importation of Bovine* and Bovine Products

  1. If a country, zone, or compartment infected with bovine anaplasmosis wishes to export:
    1. live cattle, an international veterinary certificate is required and must attest that the animals:
      1. showed no clinical sign of bovine anaplasmosis on the day of shipment; and
      2. were, since birth, kept in a zone known to be free from bovine anaplasmosis for the previous two years;
    2. OR
      1. showed no clinical sign of bovine anaplasmosis on the day of shipment; and
      2. were subjected to a diagnostic test for bovine anaplasmosis with negative results during 30 days prior to shipment; and
      3. were treated with an effective drug such as oxytetracycline for five consecutive days at a dose of 22 mg/kg (under study);
    3. AND
      1. in either of the above cases were treated with an acaricide and, if necessary, a repellent against biting insects prior to shipment and were completely free of ticks.
  2. If a country, zone, or compartment infected with bovine babesiosis wishes to export:
    1. live cattle, an international veterinary certificate is required and must attest that the animals:
      1. showed no clinical sign of bovine anaplasmosis on the day of shipment; and
      2. were, since birth, kept in a zone known to be free from bovine anaplasmosis for the previous two years;
    2. OR
      1. showed no clinical sign of bovine anaplasmosis on the day of shipment; and
      2. were subjected to a diagnostic test for bovine anaplasmosis with negative results during 30 days prior to shipment; and
      3. were treated with an effective drug such as oxytetracycline for five consecutive days at a dose of 22 mg/kg (under study);
    3. AND
      1. in either of the above cases were treated with an acaricide and, if necessary, a repellent against biting insects prior to shipment and were completely free of ticks.
  3. If a country, zone, or compartment wishes to export:
    1. female bovines for breeding, an international veterinary certificate is required and must attest that:
      1. the animals are virgin heifers; or
      2. the animals were kept in a herd in which no case of bovine genital campylobacteriosis has been declared; and/or
      3. for animals which have been mated, the culture of vaginal mucus for the presence of the causal agent of bovine genital campylobacteriosis proved negative.
    2. Bulls for breeding, an international veterinary certificate is required and must attest that:
      1. the animals:
        1. have never been used for natural service; or
        2. have only mated virgin heifers; or
        3. were kept in an establishment in which no case of bovine genital campylobacteriosis has been declared;
      2. the semen and preputial specimen cultures and/or the associated tests for the presence of the causal agent of bovine genital campylobacteriosis were negative.
    3. Bovine semen for breeding, an international veterinary certificate is required and must attest that:
      1. the donor animals:
        1. have never been used for natural service; or
        2. have only mated virgin heifers; or
        3. were kept in an establishment or artificial insemination centre where no case of bovine genital campylobacteriosis has been reported;
      2. the culture of semen and preputial specimens for the presence of the causal agent of bovine genital campylobacteriosis proved negative.
  4. If a country, zone, or compartment posing a negligible bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) risk but where there has been an indigenous case according to World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) wishes to export:
    1. cattle selected for export, an international veterinary certificate is required and must attest that the animals:
      1. are identified by a permanent identification system in such a way as to demonstrate that they are not exposed cattle as described in point 3(b)(iii) of Article 11.4.3. of the WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code;
      2. were born after the date from which the ban on the feeding of ruminants with meat-and-bone meal and greaves derived from ruminants had been effectively enforced.
  5. If a country, zone, or compartment posing a controlled BSE risk according to World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) wishes to export:
    1. cattle, an international veterinary certificate is required and must attest that:
      1. the country, zone or compartment complies with the conditions referred to in Article 11.4.4. of the WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code;
      2. cattle selected for export are identified by a permanent identification system in such a way as to demonstrate that they are not exposed cattle as described in point 3(b) of Article 11.4.4 of the WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code.;
      3. cattle selected for export were born after the date from which the ban on the feeding of ruminants with meat-and-bone meal and greaves derived from ruminants was effectively enforced.
    2. fresh meat and meat products from cattle (other than those listed in point 1 of Article 11.4.1. of the WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code), an international veterinary certificate is required and must attest that:
      1. the country, zone or compartment complies with the conditions referred to in Article 11.4.4. of the WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code;
      2. the cattle from which the fresh meat and meat products were derived passed ante- and post-mortem inspections;
      3. cattle from which the fresh meat and meat products destined for export were derived were not subjected to a stunning process, prior to slaughter, with a device injecting compressed air or gas into the cranial cavity, or to a pithing process;
      4. the fresh meat and meat products were produced and handled in a manner which ensures that such products do not contain and are not contaminated with:
        1. the tissues listed in points 1 and 2 of Article 11.4.14. of the WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code,
        2. mechanically separated meat from the skull and vertebral column from cattle over 30 months of age.
  6. If a country, zone, or compartment posing an undetermined BSE risk according to World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) wishes to export:
    1. cattle, an international veterinary certificate is required and must attest that:
      1. the feeding of ruminants with meat-and-bone meal and greaves derived from ruminants has been banned and the ban has been effectively enforced;
      2. all BSE cases, as well as:
        1. all cattle which, during their first year of life, were reared with the BSE cases during their first year of life, and, which investigation showed consumed the same potentially contaminated feed during that period, or
        2. if the results of the investigation are inconclusive, all cattle born in the same herd as, and within 12 months of the birth of, the BSE cases,
        3. if alive in the country, zone or compartment, are permanently identified, and their movements controlled, and, when slaughtered or at death, are completely destroyed;
      3. cattle selected for export:
        1. are identified by a permanent identification system in such a way as to demonstrate that they are not exposed cattle as demonstrated in point (ii) above;
        2. were born at least two years after the date from which the ban on the feeding of ruminants with meat-and-bone meal and greaves derived from ruminants was effectively enforced.
  7. If a country, zone, or compartment posing a negligible BSE risk according to World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) wishes to export:
    1. fresh meat and meat products from cattle (other than those listed in point 1 of Article 11.4.1. of the WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code), an international veterinary certificate is required and must attest that:
      1. the country, zone or compartment complies with the conditions in Article 11.4.3. of the WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code;
      2. the cattle from which the fresh meat and meat products were derived passed ante- and post-mortem inspections;
      3. in countries with negligible BSE risk where there have been indigenous cases, the cattle from which the fresh meat and meat products were derived were born after the date from which the ban on the feeding of ruminants with meat-and-bone meal and greaves derived from ruminants had been effectively enforced.

*Bovine refers to all 10 genera of the subfamily Bovinae inclusive of but not limited to domestic cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes.