3 November 2017
Who does this notice affect?
This notice is of interest to importers of natural casings, as well as associated industry participants and retailers.
What has changed?
The department is currently undertaking an Import Conditions Review (ICR) to contribute to the delivery of a key initiative in the Australian Government’s 2015 Agriculture Competitiveness White Paper.
The review of natural casings was recently finalised. As a result of the review some changes have been made to associated import conditions. The key changes are summarised and explained below:
| Change | Further information |
|---|---|
| Simplified access to import conditions in BICON. | The existing five pathways have been streamlined into the following three pathways:
|
| The current listing in BICON of ‘approved countries’ has been updated. The new list reflects the department’s FMD list, BSE FSANZ category 1 and 2 country lists, and the OIE’s PPR list. | See Appendix A |
| The requirement that containers be packed to contain only casings from a single species of animals has been removed. | The new import conditions for packaging state: The casings were processed and packed:
|
| Import conditions relating to scrapie have been removed for natural ovine / caprine casings. | The review determined natural casings do not pose a biosecurity risk for the introduction of scrapie. Therefore, import conditions relating to scrapie have been removed for these goods. |
| Clarification on the handling of consignments that arrive in Australia and have not met the 30 days post slaughter requirements. | Consignments of casings that arrive in Australia and have not met the minimum 30 days post slaughter requirement now have the option of being directed to cold storage at a class 2.5 Approved Arrangement (AA) site at the importer’s expense, for the necessary duration, prior to release from biosecurity control. |
Currently valid import permits
Please note all valid import permits will be varied to reflect the new import conditions by 10 November 2017. Import permit holders will be notified when this variation has occurred.
Further information
For further information please contact us via one of the following methods:
Email: ABIAB Import Conditions Review
Phone: 1800 900 090 (Prompt 1, then Prompt 1, and ask for the Animal Imports Condition Review section)
Appendix A
Ovine/ caprine – approved countries
The following countries are recognised by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources as free from foot and mouth disease; and officially recognised by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) as being free from peste des petits ruminants.
Country
- Australia
- Greece
- Poland
- Austria
- Hungary
- Portugal
- Belgium
- Iceland
- Romania
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Ireland
- Singapore
- Canada
- Italy
- Slovakia
- Chile (under assessment)
- Latvia
- Slovenia
- Cyprus
- Lithuania
- Spain
- Czech Rep.
- Luxembourg
- Sweden
- Denmark
- Malta
- Switzerland
- Estonia
- Mexico
- The Netherlands
- Finland
- New Caledonia
- United Kingdom
- France
- New Zealand
- United States of America
- Germany
- Norway
Bovine – approved countries
The following countries are recognised by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources as free from foot and mouth disease; and officially recognised by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) as being free from peste des petits ruminants; and have been assessed by FSANZ and assigned a category 1 or category 2 BSE risk rating.
Country
- Australia
- Lithuania
- New Zealand
- Chile (under assessment for FMD)
- Mexico
- Sweden
- Latvia
- The Netherlands
- United States of America