Regulations Regarding the Procedures for issuing Veterinary (Health) Certificates for Animals and Products of Animal Origin and General Veterinary Requirements for the Circulation of Food Products of Animal Origin

Issued pursuant to
Section 25, Clauses 1 and 7
of the Veterinary Medicine Law

I. General Provisions

1. This Regulation prescribes the procedures for issuing veterinary (health) certificates for animals and products of animal origin and also the general veterinary requirements for the circulation of food products of animal origin.

2. The conformity with this Regulation shall be supervised and controlled by the Food and Veterinary Service (hereinafter - the Service).

II. Procedures for Issuing Veterinary (Health) Certificates

3. In the cases prescribed in the laws and regulations governing the field of the circulation of animals and food products of animal origin (Annex 1), the veterinary (health) certificate shall be filled in and issued by an official veterinarian (the inspector of the Service (veterinarian)) who has been authorised by the Service to issue and approve veterinary (health) certificates.

4. In order to receive the veterinary (health) certificate, the person shall submit an application to the territorial unit of the Service. The following information shall be indicated in the application:

4.1. the consignor and consignee (name, address of the actual location, country. If it is intended to pass the freight in transit - also the transit country);

4.2. the type, origin, and size of freight (weight or number of units);

4.3. the vehicle intended for the carriage of freight (type and registration number);

4.4. place and time of loading the freight;

4.5. the applicant (given name, surname, position, telephone number);

4.6. other information if necessary to carry the relevant freight into the country of destination.

5. Veterinary (health) certificate shall conform to the following requirements:

5.1. it has been drawn up on one or several mutually linked and inseparable sheets of paper or a page number of the total number of pages is indicated on each individual sheet of the veterinary (health) certificate;

5.2. it includes the identification number of the veterinary (health) certificate which is a unique number and does not repeat in the identification system;

5.3. if the freight is exported to another European Union Member State (hereinafter - the Member State), the veterinary (health) certificate has been completed in TRACES system (integrated computerised veterinary system) and has been printed out in the official language and in at least one of the official languages of the country of destination. The veterinary (health) certificate is issued prior to exportation of the freight from the territory of Latvia;

5.4. the official veterinarian has certified it with his or her signature and seal;

5.5. the original copy is sent jointly with the freight.

6. If the freight is imported into Latvia from a third country, the veterinary (health) certificate shall conform to the following requirements:

6.1. it has been drawn up in accordance with the requirements laid down in Sub-paragraphs 5.1 and 5.2 of this Regulation. If it is comprised of two or more sheets of paper, the identification number of the veterinary (health) certificate is indicated on each page;

6.2. it has been drawn up in the official language or in the language to the use of which the Service consents or which is supplemented with a certified translation in the official language;

6.3. it certifies that animals or products conform to the requirements laid down in this Regulation and in the legal acts of the European Union for import of the respective animals or products in the European Union;

6.4. an authorised veterinarian of the competent veterinary authority of the third country has certified it with his or her signature and seal. If the veterinary (health) certificate is comprised of more than one page, this requirement shall apply to each subsequent page;

6.5. the original copy is sent jointly with the freight.

7. The Service shall ensure that the official veterinarian who completes and issues the veterinary (health) certificate is trained and has knowledge of:

7.1. the laws and regulations governing the field of the circulation of animals and products of animal origin;

7.2. the procedures for completing and issuing the veterinary (health) certificate;

7.3. the information necessary for completing the veterinary (health) certificate;

7.4. inspections and examinations (types and scope thereof) required prior to issuing the veterinary (health) certificate.

8. The official veterinarian who completes and issues the veterinary (health) certificate shall certify the following with his or her signature and seal:

8.1. information the veracity of which has been ascertained and that can be verified by him or her;

8.2. fully completed veterinary (health) certificate;

8.3. the veterinary (health) certificate for animals or products of animal origin which have undergone the necessary inspections and examinations.

9. In the case referred to in Paragraph 8 of this Regulation the official veterinarian shall certify the veterinary (health) certificate with a seal and signature if the information necessary for completing it or the results of inspections or examinations:

9.1. have been obtained by himself or herself;

9.2. have been provided by another official veterinarian or a person who pursuant to the authorisation of the Service has the right to issue documents containing the abovementioned information and who is acting under the supervision of the official veterinarian;

9.3. have been provided by a competent veterinary authority of another Member State;

9.4. have been obtained on the basis of the State monitoring programmes referred to in veterinary laws and regulations.

10. The Service shall establish a common procedure for issuing the veterinary (health) certificates and for storage of copies thereof, ensuring thus the traceability of their issuance.

11. A control system has been established within the Service in order to prevent the drawing up, issuing, and use of forged or misleading veterinary (health) certificates.

12. In cases where forged or misleading veterinary (health) certificates are discovered, the Service shall conduct the respective inspection or internal investigation. Within the scope of these measures, the official veterinarian who has issued the veterinary (health) certificate may be temporarily removed from office for the duration of the inspection or internal investigation.

13. If in the course of the investigation or inspection referred to in Paragraph 12 of this Regulation the Service establishes that:

13.1. the official veterinarian has intentionally indicated false information in the veterinary (health) certificate, the Service shall take measures to prevent reoccurrence of such offence;

13.2. the person has intentionally provided false information or has made corrections to the veterinary (health) certificate, the Service may refuse to issue the veterinary (health) certificate to this person in future.

III. General Veterinary Requirements for the Circulation of Food Products of Animal Origin

14. It is permitted to obtain food products of animal origin from animals which conform to the following requirements:

14.1. their state of health is appropriate for obtaining food products in accordance with the requirements laid down in the laws and regulations regarding handling of food;

14.2. animals come from a holding or an establishment located in the territory of the country or in a part of its territory for which no prohibition or restriction has been determined on animal health grounds in accordance with the laws and regulations regarding handling of food.

15. It is permitted to obtain meat and meat products from animals which conform to the following additional requirements:

15.1. they have been slaughtered in a slaughterhouse where no infectious animal diseases have been established and there is also no suspicion of an infectious animal disease;

15.2. no grounds have been established in the post-mortem inspection for suspicions of the presence of agents causing an infectious disease and the presence of agents causing an infectious disease has not been detected in the samples taken for laboratory investigation.

16. The Service can authorise the circulation of such food products of animal origin which do not conform to the requirement specified in Sub-paragraph 14.2 of this Regulation if the respective products:

16.1. have been obtained from animals in the holding of origin whereof no infectious animal diseases have been established and there is also no suspicion of an infectious animal disease;

16.2. have been obtained, treated, transported, and stored separately from other food products of animal origin conforming to the requirements laid down in the laws and regulations regarding animal health or the abovementioned actions have been conducted with them at another time;

16.3. have been treated by using the method which ensures the destruction of the agents of an animal infectious disease detected in the territory or part thereof subject to a prohibition or restriction. The processing has been conducted in an establishment which has been approved by the Service for conducting such actions;

16.4. are labelled and clearly identifiable.

17. In the case referred to in Paragraph 16 of this Regulation food products of animal origin are removed from the territory subject to a prohibition or restriction in accordance with the laws and regulations which prescribe the procedures for the combating and threat prevention of particularly dangerous disease (epizootic) outbreaks.

18. Fresh meat, milk, and dairy products which conform to the requirements laid down in Paragraph 16 of this Regulation shall be treated in accordance with Annex 2 to this Regulation.

19. Fresh meat which conforms to the requirements laid down in Paragraph 16 of this Regulation and which has undergone the post-mortem inspection shall be marked in compliance with the following conditions:

19.1. requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption;

19.2. the health mark is covered by a diagonal cross consisting of two straight lines with the point of intersection in the centre of the marking and the information thereon remains legible;

19.3. the health mark contains the authorisation number assigned by the Service to the veterinarian who conducted the post-mortem inspection of the animal. This requirement shall not apply to fresh meat obtained in Latvia and intended for distribution in the local market.

20. Food products from aquaculture animals are obtained, treated, processed, and distributed in compliance with the requirements and procedures laid down in the laws and regulations regarding veterinary requirements for aquaculture animals, products derived from them and for the circulation thereof and also for prevention and combating of infectious diseases of separate aquaculture animals.

21. It is permitted to import food products of animal origin into Latvia from third countries or parts of their territory wherefrom the European Commission has authorised to import the respective products.

IV. Closing Provision

22. The following Regulations are repealed:

22.1. Cabinet Regulation No. 677 of 6 September 2005, Regulations Regarding the Circulation of Animal Products and Food Products of Animal Origin and the Procedures for Issuing Veterinary (Health) Certificates (Latvijas Vēstnesis, 2005, No. 144);

22.2. Cabinet Regulation No. 327 of 13 May 2008, Procedures for Issuing Veterinary (Health) Certificates for Animal Products and Products of Animal Origin (Latvijas Vēstnesis, 2008, No. 76).

Informative Reference to European Union Directives

This Regulation contains legal norms arising from:

1) Council Directive 2002/99/EC of 16 December 2002 laying down the animal health rules governing the production, processing, distribution and introduction of products of animal origin for human consumption;

2) Council Directive 96/93/EC of 17 December 1996 on the certification of animals and animal products.

Prime Minister, Minister for Regional Development and
Local Government V. Dombrovskis

Minister for Agriculture J. Dūklavs

Annex 1
Cabinet Regulation No. 1121
14 December 2010

Laws and Regulations Governing the Field of the Circulation of Animals and Products of Animal Origin

[4 February 2014]

Minister for Agriculture J. Dūklavs

Annex 2
Cabinet Regulation No. 1121
14 December 2010

Processing of Food Products of Animal Origin

[4 February 2014]

Notes.
1. ¹ Taking of appropriate safety measures to prevent the risk of product contamination.
2. ² An F₀ value is characterised by the treatment effect which prevents the formation of bacterial spores. An F₀ value of 3.00 means that the coldest point in the product has been treated sufficiently to achieve the same killing effect as when treating the product at 121 °C for three minutes with instantaneous heating and chilling.
3. + - efficiency ensured.
4. 0 - efficiency not ensured.

Translation © 2020 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)