,"Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA), through the General Coordination of Transit, Quarantine and Animal Certification (CGTQA), has established detailed animal health requirements for the importation of fishery products intended for human consumption under document reference RIG.PJ.DP.AQUA.EX.AH.DEZ.25.
Under the regulation, imported fishery products must be accompanied by an official sanitary certificate issued or endorsed by the competent veterinary authority of the exporting country. The certificate must be written in Portuguese and the language of the certifying country, or English, and attest to compliance with specific animal health conditions depending on the product category and production method.
For fish and fishery products originating from capture fisheries, the regulation requires that animals were not obtained from aquaculture or confinement at any stage and showed no clinical signs of disease or infection at the time of inspection. For aquaculture-origin products, the regulation mandates that animals originate from known sources under official disease surveillance programs, comply with national animal health legislation aligned with OMSA (WOAH) Aquatic Animal Health Code, and were not sourced from establishments under sanitary restrictions or subject to disease-control slaughter.
Specific provisions apply to non-viable shrimp and crayfish, distinguishing between capture and aquaculture origins, with requirements for full cleaning (headless, peeled, and eviscerated), disease-free status, and, where applicable, official inspection. Additional requirements are defined for thermally processed shrimp and crayfish, including validated heat treatment parameters for sterilized, cooked, or pasteurized products, or equivalent processes approved by Brazil’s Department of Animal Health (DSA).
The regulation also establishes health conditions for live bivalve mollusks and their products, requiring origin from areas not subject to animal health restrictions or abnormal mortality events, and imposing transport water controls to prevent exposure to lower or unknown sanitary status areas. Separate provisions apply to cultured bivalves, including mandatory establishment registration and professional veterinary supervision.
For aquatic animal oils, the regulation requires official veterinary supervision during processing, controls to prevent contamination with ruminant proteins, and sourcing from countries classified by OMSA as negligible or controlled risk for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
Dedicated sections address tilapia and tilapia-derived products, including fillets from capture fisheries and aquaculture, chilled or frozen eviscerated products, and thermally processed products. Additional safeguards include requirements related to Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV) freedom or testing, individual inspection, and disease-free certification.
Overall, the regulation strengthens Brazil’s biosecurity framework for imported fishery products by aligning import conditions with international animal health standards, reinforcing disease prevention measures, and ensuring the sanitary safety of aquatic products entering the Brazilian market."