Mexico and South Korea boost trade in certified meat
Senasica requires strict sanitary and safety measures in the more than 400 TIF establishments operating in Mexico.
In order to maintain the Mexican meat export market for the benefit of the productive sector, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is working with the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency of the Republic of Korea (APQA) to recertify five Federal Inspection Type (TIF) establishments to export porcine and bovine products.
The National Service for Agri-Food Health, Safety and Quality (SENASICA) received officials from Korea at its headquarters and accompanied them on their visit to five TIF establishments, located in Durango, Guanajuato, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and Yucatán, to verify compliance with the safety provisions required by the Asian government.
At the reception meeting, the General Director of Agri-Food, Aquaculture and Fisheries Safety, David Soriano García, explained that Mexico, through Senasica, works permanently with the health authorities of its trading partners in the implementation of import and export protocols for agri-food goods, which is essential to guarantee the availability of healthy and safe food for the population and to strengthen the development of the country's rural communities, producers and their families.
The audits carried out by importing countries provide guarantees of safety in each process of transformation of meat products, from slaughter to packaging and distribution, he said.
He emphasized that Senasica, together with the productive sector, provides certainty in its products because strict sanitary and safety measures are applied in the more than 400 TIF establishments that operate in 30 federal entities, of which around 30 percent have certification to export to more than 65 international destinations, such as the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, China and South Korea.
The director of TIF establishments, Jesús Gutiérrez García, announced that the observations of the APQA staff will be attended to in a timely manner, in order to avoid interruptions in the export of Mexican products to the Asian country.
Mexico's health system is functioning optimally and satisfactorily, ensuring that exported foods meet the quality and safety standards established by Mexican and international standards, he said.
Senasica experts reported that they are currently working to strengthen the training of personnel working in TIF plants, including official veterinarians authorized by Agriculture.
APQA technicians Il-Soo Lim and Ho-Sung Lee said that the inspection is being carried out with the aim of maintaining the import of Mexican meat and preventing public health problems arising from diseases transmitted by food of animal origin.
They said that, during their tour of various states in the country, they certified that the health protocols of the establishments are being complied with, which will be included in the report that will be sent to Mexico in the coming months.
They pointed out that if the audit had revealed any problems related to the sanitary conditions of meat exports to Korea, they would have asked the Mexican government to take measures to resolve it.
They stressed that their country has successfully controlled and managed serious livestock diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, avian influenza and African swine fever, and expressed their willingness to share their experiences and work together to address these types of health situations.
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