Introduction
Legal background
When will the new Accord enter into force?
What will happen with the 2014 Accord?
What are the main modifications or additions of the Accord in regard to the 2014 Accord?
Who will perform laboratory analysis?
On 9 February 2022, the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) published the following accord (the Accord) in the Federal Official Gazette (DOF):
Accord establishing criteria to determine the maximum limits of toxic waste and contaminants on goods of animal origin, aquaculture and fisheries resources, operation of analytic methods, the national program for control and monitoring of toxic waste on goods of animal origin, aquaculture and fisheries products, monitoring program of toxic waste on animal products, and the national program of monitoring for pesticide waste on vegetables, as well as the query module, all of which are regulated by the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The Accord establishes the import regulations on pesticides for vegetable and animal products, including the facilities that perform activities relating to the production of vegetables. Article 2(II) of the Accord states that these provisions are mandatory throughout national territory for anyone intending to import these products and resources into Mexico.
On 9 October 2014, an accord (the 2014 Accord) was published in the DOF to establish:
- the criteria to determine the maximum limits of toxic waste and contaminants to be imported into Mexico;
- operation of analytic methods;
- the National Programme of Control and Monitoring of Toxic Waste relating to imports of goods from animal, aquaculture and fishery origin;
- the Programme for Monitoring of Toxic Waste relating to imports of animals; and
- the query module, a new tool to monitor compliance.
All the elements above are regulated by the Secretary of Agriculture, Farming, Rural Development, Fishing and Food Supply.
The purpose of the 2014 Accord was to determine the maximum limits of toxic waste and contaminants allowed on imports of goods from animal, aquaculture and fishery origin.
The following Q&A answers key questions about the new Accord and discusses the changes it will bring to import regulations.
When will the new Accord enter into force?
In accordance with the first transitory article of the Accord, it will enter into force 90 days after its publication in the DOF – that is, on 10 May 2022.
What will happen with the 2014 Accord?
Once the Accord enters into force, the 2014 Accord will be revoked.
What are the main modifications or additions of the Accord in regard to the 2014 Accord?
The main modification is that it establishes the National Programme for monitoring Pesticide Waste on Vegetables. The programme will monitor and verify that the use of agricultural pesticides on imports of vegetable goods is performed in accordance with expert guidance on biological effectiveness issued by the authorities.
The programme must be published on the website of the National Service for Agri-food Health, Safety and Quality (SENASICA) no later than 11 July 2022.
The programme will establish the following:
- a list of vegetable imports that will be subject to monitoring to review compliance regarding the use of pesticides, on an annual basis;
- a list of contaminant pesticide products, the use of which on vegetable imports must be monitored;
- actions to be taken regarding monitoring and compliance with the use of agricultural pesticides on vegetable imports;
- sampling procedures to guarantee that sample imports are a representative percentage of the vegetable studied.
When the laboratory analysis determines that the import sample exceeds the maximum limits of pesticides allowed, the point of contamination must be identified and the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risk and the sanitary authorities must be notified to determine the corrective measures to be applied to reduce the contamination risk and avoid recurrence.
Who will perform laboratory analysis?
The National Centre of Reference for Pesticides and Contaminants of the SENASICA will perform any laboratory analysis.
The Accord also introduces a tool that can be used on the SENASICA website. The tool enables compliance with the aforementioned regulations to be monitored.
The tool will include the maximum limits of toxic waste and contaminants allowed – in order to guarantee their proper detection – for the safety of the goods regulated.
Likewise, the tool will contain the National Programme for monitoring Pesticide Waste on Vegetables, and the criteria for its operation, application and interpretation.
For further information on this topic please contact Edmundo Elías-Fernández, Daniel Torres-Güémez or Daniel Ascencio-Zamarripa at Ramos, Ripoll & Schuster by telephone (+52 55 1518 0445) or email ([email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]). The Ramos, Ripoll & Schuster website can be accessed at www.rrs.com.mx.