Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards - Narrative
Report Highlights:
This report outlines regulatory requirements for agricultural imports into Brazil, including import procedures. Compared to the previous report released in 2010, no significant modifications have been made. Some editing was made in Sections I, VI and VII.
Section I. Food Laws
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).
Other Ministries and/or agencies also involved in monitoring/control of food safety include the Environment Protection Institute (IBAMA), of the Ministry of the Environment; the National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality (INMETRO) of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce (MDIC); the National Technical Commission on Biosafety (CNTBio), which is an Inter-Ministerial Commission based in the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT); and the Department of Consumer Protection and Defense (DPDC) within the Ministry of Justice.
The Brazilian Constitution defines the boundaries between federal, state and municipal law. It also defines the power each federal branch may hold through its legislative, judicial and executive power. As the executive power and its branches exercise authority to legislate activities related to foreign trade and food safety, importers/exporters may observe the set of rules each administrative agency releases as it direct impacts market access for foreign goods. Although Congress has responsibility for rule making, the power delegated to the Ministries and its various branches are considerable as they implement those rules and define with more accuracy the procedures that must be followed.
