Brazil is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and therefore has made commitments to subscribe to the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement and to Codex Alimentarius (CODEX) principles. Food regulations issued at the federal level are contained in various types of legal documents and, in order to be implemented must be published in Brazil’s Diario Oficial (similar to the U.S. Federal Register).
Brazil has three levels of government: federal, state and municipal. Legally, federal regulations must be followed when there are conflicts between federal, state and municipal legislation, or between regulations established by different Ministries at the federal level. State and municipal governments also have the authority to regulate and enforce state and municipal laws.
In the federal government, numerous agencies and several Ministries share jurisdiction for ensuring the safety of the Brazilian food supply and regulating imports of agricultural commodities and foods. However, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Supply (MAPA) and the Ministry of Health (MS) - through its National Agency of Sanitary Surveillance (ANVISA) - are the primary regulators of agricultural products. MAPA oversees and enforces a large number of regulations pertaining to production, marketing, import and export of animal origin products, fresh fruit and vegetables, alcoholic beverages, juices, grains, seeds, and animal feed (including pet food). ANVISA enforces most of the regulations regarding processed food products. MAPA and ANVISA’s regulations may be consulted on-line. On MAPA’s website (www.agricultura.gov.br) the search tool SISLEGIS makes available the current regulations on products that are under MAPA’s supervision. A similar search tool called VISALEGIS can be found at ANVISA’s website (www.anvisa.gov.br).
