3.88.  Mauritania has not notified the WTO of any sanitary or phytosanitary (SPS) measures. Within the framework of its transparency obligations under the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Mauritania has notified the Foreign Trade Protection Directorate as its national enquiry point for the WTO and has designated the Director of Livestock and Agriculture as the authority responsible for WTO notification procedures.[68]

3.89.  Mauritania acceded to the FAO's International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) on 29 April 2002.[69] It is also a member of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and of the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission. In particular, the OIE has carried out a veterinary legislation mission with the Veterinary Services Directorate; launched the PVS Pathway for effective veterinary services; and prepared the Gap Analysis report in 2010; however, the relevant reports have not been made public.[70] In 2011, Mauritania also benefited from a mission to support the organization of a donors' round table.[71]

3.90.  Sanitary and phytosanitary control is characterized by the presence of different services without any real coordination. These are, in particular, the Ministry responsible for health, for hygiene and food safety; the Ministry responsible for fisheries, for fishery product quality control carried out through the Fishery Product Promotion Directorate (DPPP); and the Ministry responsible for rural development and the environment, for phytosanitary and animal health controls carried out, respectively, by the Agriculture Directorate and by the Directorate responsible for livestock. Despite the diversity of the participants, effective food quality and hygiene control is still limited

3.91.  Sanitary and phytosanitary inspection fees, the method of collection and the processing charges will have to be determined jointly by the Ministry responsible for agriculture and that responsible for finance. A draft Decree for setting the amounts of the sanitary and phytosanitary inspection fees is in preparation. Law No. 042 of 26 July 2000 defines the rules governing the protection of plant species and their products. Under the terms of this law, the importation into Mauritania of plant species, their products, soil, compost, and packaging used for transporting them is subject to the production of a phytosanitary certificate issued by the country of origin

3.92.  In 2002, the Ministry responsible for agriculture published three different lists indicating the plant species, their products and the other products whose importation is, respectively, prohibited, subject to prior authorization or subject only to the production of a phytosanitary certificate. According to the authorities, these three lists, included in Mauritania's last TPR, are not being applied.[72]

3.93.  The equivalent legislation for sanitary measures dates from the 1960s. The Livestock Code in force was adopted in 2004. According to the authorities, the OIE is currently helping Mauritania to modernize its livestock code. The importation of certain animals is understood to be subject to prior authorization from the Ministry responsible for livestock. However, a list of these animals is not available

3.94.  The sanitary inspection and safety of animal products intended for human consumption continue to be regulated by a decree dating from 1965.[73] Surveillance of the premises, sanitary control of the animals, and sanitary inspection of the safety of the products are mandatory but are carried out only when a duly accredited member of the veterinary services resides in the vicinity of the abattoir or slaughter yard

3.95.  The import and export of animals and animal products are regulated by Decree No. 65.087 of 19 May 1965, which stipulates that all imported animals must be accompanied by a sanitary certificate not more than one month old. This certificate must stipulate that the animals are free of certain diseases and have been vaccinated against epidemics prevalent in the exporting country (Table 3.6)

3.96.  The laboratory of the National Office for the Sanitary Inspection of Fishery and Aquaculture Products (ONISPA) has been accredited to international requirements for analysis and testing purposes since March 2013 (Section 4.1.2.3.3)

3.97.  Mauritania has no domestic regulations concerning GMOs. The authorities have indicated that they comply with the directives of the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS)

3.78.  Mauritania has not made any notification under Article 15.2 of the WTO TBT Agreement. At the end of March 2018, there was no national enquiry point for TBTs in place. Mauritania has experienced difficulties in implementing its legislation relating to the standardization, certification and accreditation process. Despite the adoption of a law in 2010, the regulatory framework for standardization, certification and accreditation remains weak in the absence of implementing decrees. The accreditation system envisaged for 2013 is not yet operational

3.79.  The legislation on standardization and quality promotion has not changed since Mauritania's last TPR in 2011. Under Article 2 of Law No. 2010‑003 of 14 January 2010, standardization, certification and accreditation activities are coordinated and monitored by the Minister responsible for industry. Since 2011, the following measures, among others, have been adopted: Decree No. 198/2014 of 14 October 2014 amending the Ministry's organization chart in order to strengthen the powers of the Standardization and Quality Promotion Directorate (DNPQ)[67]; and the national quality policy, on 8 May 2016

3.80.  The national standardization, metrology and quality promotion system consists of the following bodies: the National Standardization and Quality Promotion Council, responsible, in particular, for helping the Government to define national policy in the field and to give its opinion on any strategic question relating to these areas; the Mauritanian Accreditation Committee, responsible for giving its opinion on accreditation requests from certification bodies; the National Standardization and Metrology Office, which is not yet operational; and the national technical committees: the Agri‑Food Standards Committee, which existed at the time of Mauritania's last TPR in 2011; and other committees established since then, namely, the Committee on Rice and Wheat established by prime‑ministerial order in 2016, the Electrotechnical Committee, the Anti‑Corruption Committee, the Construction Committee (with a technical regulation on cement), and the Chemistry Committee, which also deals with mineral water

3.81.  The initiative for drafting a new standard may come from any operator or international institution. All the bodies interested in the preparation of a standard may submit their proposals, together with the necessary supporting documents, to the DNPQ. The decision may be based on economic (importance of the sector for imports or exports, risks for the individual) or non‑economic criteria. A standardization programme is drawn up each year. The technical committee competent for the area concerned prepares a draft standard which undergoes a two‑month public consultation stage; and letters are also sent to the bodies concerned for comment. The secretariat of the committee in question finalizes and adopts the standard, which is then published by the DNPQ

3.82.  The standard is made compulsory by order of the Minister responsible for industry, if it concerns health, the environment, or following a reasoned request. The order is published in the Official Journal. Changes in technical regulations are published in the Official Journal and copies are distributed among the interested public bodies. Since 2010 there have been a dozen technical regulations covering food products (in particular, edible oils and wheat flour) and mineral water. Provisions adopted by other national institutions have also introduced other technical regulations. In practice, it would seem that for reasons such as safety and health, international standards (including those of the Codex Alimentarius) are likely to be required for certain imports

3.83.  According to the National Strategy for Accelerated Growth and Shared Prosperity (SCAPP) report, where the analytical and testing laboratory and conformity control infrastructure is concerned, there is still a lack of equipment and qualified human resources as well as funding, with performance often dependent on external support. The DNPQ has a national metrology laboratory, which takes a quality approach, and a legal metrology laboratory

3.84.  The inspections are mainly focused on the hygienic condition and safety of food (including fishery) products, medicinal products and other mass consumables, including hydrocarbons. These inspections are intended to guarantee the quality of the products, protect the public, and ensure healthy competition on the domestic market by suppressing bad commercial practices, while conforming to the commitments made under the WTO Agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS). However, the quality control facilities are modest and controls are rare, with Mauritania accepting conformity certificates issued by recognized foreign bodies

3.85.  Fishery products constitute an exception. Controls, through inspections and analyses, are carried out on all fishing activities. The laboratory of the National Office for the Sanitary Inspection of Fishery and Aquaculture Products (ONISPA) has been accredited to international requirements since March 2013 for purposes of analysis and testing (Section 4.1.2.3.3). It appears that cattle also undergo veterinary inspection at border posts and in the ports (Section 3.3.3)

3.86.  Mauritania does not yet have a national accreditation system. It is a member of the Arab Accreditation Council with Iraq, for calibration purposes. Mauritania has signed cooperation agreements with Tunisia and Algeria, Senegal and Sudan for the purpose of making joint assessments

3.87.  Mandatory labelling requirements apply to a number of goods, such as food products, cigarettes, and matches. The labelling must always be in French and/or Arabic. In the case of food products, labelling must indicate the nature of the product, the ingredients and the quantity, as well as the place of production and the use‑by date. In addition, according to Decree No. 2009‑102 of 6 April 2009 regulating veterinary pharmacy in Mauritania, the packaging of medicated feedstuffs for animals must necessarily bear a label indicating their full composition, as well as their date of manufacture and use‑by date