Date of issue: 4 August 2017
Date of effect: Immediate
Attention:
Industries—Industry bodies – AHBIC
Export establishments including:
Honey Licensed exporters
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources—Central and Regional offices
Purpose
To notify honey exporters of the conditions under which trade in honey to Saudi Arabia can recommence.
Export certification requirements for honey exported to Saudi Arabia —effective immediately
Following representations from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority has advised that trade in honey to Saudi Arabia can recommence under agreed upon conditions.
Honey exported to Saudi Arabia must be accompanied by an EX188M export certificate, with the following attestation;
“The product/s described above;
- comes from an establishment (s) implementing a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Program.
- have been handled, prepared, packaged and stored in a hygienic manner.
- is/are fit for human consumption.
Honey and bee products shall comply with maximum residue limits for residues of pesticides and veterinary drugs for honey established by Codex Alimentarius Commission or, in the absence of a Codex MRL, conforms to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.
The honey either:
- comes from apiaries situated in a country or zone free from Aethina tumida; the free zone is an area of at least 100km radius, which is not subject to any restrictions associated with the occurrence of the small hive beetle (A. tumida); or
- has been strained through a filter with a pore size of between 0.2mm and 0.42mm to ensure the destruction of A. tumida; or
- has been frozen at a core temperature of minus 12 degrees Celcius or less for at least 24 hours.
The honey comes from apiaries which are supervised and controlled by the relevant government authority and all precautions have been taken to prevent contamination with A. tumida.”
The requirements in this Market Access Advice (MAA) will be in force until the implementation of the Gulf Cooperation Council Guide for Control of Imported Foods (the Guide) and its associated export certification. At the time of release of this MAA, the department is unaware of the implementation date for the Guide for Saudi Arabia.
MICoR will be updated to reflect this advice.
Further information
Contact Exports if you have any queries.
The information provided in this advice is current at the time of writing and is intended for use as guidance only and should not be taken as definitive or exhaustive. The Commonwealth endeavours to keep information current and accurate, however, it may be subject to change without notice. Exporters are encouraged to verify these details with their importers prior to undertaking production/exports. The Commonwealth will not accept liability for any loss resulting from reliance on information contained in this notice.