3.159.  Sanitary and phytosanitary policy in Peru is formulated and implemented by three different authorities that operate in their respective spheres of competency (health certification, authorizations, surveillance, control, inspection and sanitary regulation). The National Agrarian Health Service (SENASA), attached to the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MINAGRI), deals with animal and plant health and the safety of agricultural and livestock food products at the production and primary processing stages; the National Fisheries Health Service (SANIPES), attached to the Ministry of Production (PRODUCE), is the sanitary authority in the fishery and aquaculture sector (primary production, primary processing and processed products); and the Directorate-General of Environmental Health and Food Safety (DIGESA), attached to the Ministry of Health (MINSA), is the health authority responsible for industrially processed foods, except for fishery and aquaculture products. The policies and activities of these three institutions are coordinated by the Standing Multisectoral Commission on Food Safety (COMPIAL), attached to and chaired by MINSA, in which SENASA, DIGESA and SANIPES all participate.[217] The entities in question also have sector-specific policies.[218]

3.160.  The main regulations governing sanitary and phytosanitary policy are the General Law on Agrarian Health, which lays down the legal framework for providing the official animal and plant health services that are essential for the protection of human, animal and plant health[219], along with Legislative Decree No. 1062, the Law on Food Safety[220], and Law No. 26842, the General Health Law (Table 3.11).[221] Several legislative amendments were made during the period under review, including implementation of the Law on strengthening the leadership role of the Health Ministry.[222] In addition, a very important step was taken to simplify procedures, by implementing the Inter‑Agency Collaboration Agreement between MINAGRI, MINSA and SENASA.[223]

3.161.  The preparation of a sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measure starts with a risk analysis (questionnaire and on-site visit). If this results in a favourable report, the provisional measure is then drafted with its requirements and notified to the WTO (consultation period). A decision is then issued, and the measure is published as an approved standard in "El Peruano" and notified to the WTO. The SPS measures issued by the three institutions with jurisdiction are based on international standards, guidelines and recommendations drawn up by the competent international organizations, namely, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Codex Alimentarius

3.162.  Applications for the various zoosanitary and phytosanitary permits (sanitary or phytosanitary import permit or amendment thereof; inspection report, post-entry quarantine registration, sanitary or phytosanitary export certificate, and sanitary authorization for an export establishment) are processed through the single window for foreign trade (VUCE) by all institutions except for SANIPES

3.163.  SENASA's mission is to manage the Agrarian Health and Agri-Food Safety System for agricultural producers, agents in the agri-food chain, consumers and subnational governments.[224] SENASA's Plant Health Directorate determines the phytosanitary requirements for importation, based on the product, the country of origin and/or provenance and its proposed use, after carrying out a pest risk analysis (PRA).[225] A PRA is performed in the following situations: when a pest entry route is identified; when a plant product is imported from a new country or part thereof; when a previously unimported plant product starts to be imported; or when a pest is identified. In the latter case, the phytosanitary regulations are revised.[226] PRAs can also be performed in response to changes in a country's phytosanitary situation or changes in political boundaries. The studies in question can be based on requests and technical information provided by the national plant protection organizations (NPPOs) of the countries of origin, and importers and exporters, as well as using relevant databases.[227]

3.164.  SENASA issues the Phytosanitary Import Permit (PFI), which authorizes the importation of plants, plant products and other items that are regulated, and is a mandatory requirement before such products may enter Peru.[228] The importer needs the PFI to be able to bring plants, plant products and other regulated items into the country. The document must be issued before official certification in the country of origin and/or source and shipment to Peru, regardless of volume, use or mode of importation. To process a new PFI, a fee is payable equivalent to 1.7% of the official tax unit (UIT); while amendment or duplication of a PFI costs the equivalent of 1.2% of a UIT.[229] Once the original PFI has been obtained, it must be sent to the supplier in the country of origin for cognizance and to obtain the respective phytosanitary certificate from that country's health authority, indicating compliance with the relevant phytosanitary requirements. The PFI is valid for a single shipment and for 90 calendar days from its date of issue. SENASA has defined five phytosanitary risk categories in which plants, plant products and other regulated items are grouped (see below). The phytosanitary requirements are related to the phytosanitary risk categories approved by SENASA

3.165.  The importation into Peru of any plant, plant product or other regulated item is subject to mandatory inspection by SENASA at the health authority's authorized border control points (PCEs).[230] Certain products are also subject to a post-entry quarantine requirement.[231] SENASA established the Post-Entry Quarantine Procedure Manual through General Directive No. 043‑2000‑AG-SENASA-DGSV-DDF. The following are considered materials subject to this procedure: plants and their parts destined for propagation and/or sowing; sexual seed germplasm; biological control entities and organisms that arrive in special culture media or in pest organisms; and plants and parts thereof to be exhibited at conferences or festivals.[232]

3.166.  In the period 2013-18, 272 new phytosanitary import requirements and 86 sanitary import requirements were issued. The agricultural and livestock imports that were suspended in the period 2013-18 are listed in Table 3.12

3.167.  SENASA, as the body responsible for establishing sanitary and phytosanitary import requirements, issued Departmental Resolution (Resolucin Jefatural) No. 0162-2017-MINAGRI-SENASA defining five animal and plant health risk categories in respect of livestock products, depending on their level of processing, proposed use and ability to carry disease pathogens and quarantine pests that pose a risk to agrarian and animal health and public health. The action taken by SENASA depends on the risk category of the product to be imported. The risk categories are: Risk category 1: products and by-products of animal or plant origin that have undergone a process that eliminates the possibility of carriage of pathogens or pests of quarantine importance. SENASA reserves the right to inspect them when it deems it necessary, but they are not subject to mandatory control. Risk category 2: products and by-products of animal or plant origin that have undergone a process that lessens the possibility of carriage of pathogens and pests of quarantine importance. Risk category 3: products and by-products of animal origin that have undergone processing or industrialization, and semi-processed products of plant origin or primary natural products, whose processes do not guarantee the destruction of pathogens and pests of quarantine importance.[233] Risk category 4: primary products of animal origin and seeds, plants or parts thereof intended for propagation, capable of transporting pathogens and pests of quarantine importance. Risk category 5: animals, reproductive material or any other product of animal, plant, or non-plant origin deemed to pose a high risk of introducing pathogens, diseases and pests of quarantine importance

3.168.  The sanitary and phytosanitary risk category listing of agricultural goods that are regulated by SENASA through Departmental Resolution No. 0162-2017-MINAGRI-SENASA, specifies the agricultural or livestock products of risk categories 1 and 2 that do not require a sanitary/phytosanitary import permit to enter Peru.[234]

3.169.  Pursuant to Article 4 of Departmental Resolution No. 0162-2017-MINAGRI-SENASA, agricultural goods entering Peru must satisfy the requirements set out in Table 3.13 according to their risk category. For international transit, agricultural goods classified in risk categories 2 to 4 must have an International Transit Permit and submit to mandatory inspection/verification at the point of entry

3.170.  An important step has been taken to facilitate procedures and trade through the implementation of Agreement No. 0004-2016-MINAGRI-DM, the inter-agency collaboration agreement between MINAGRI, MINSA and SENASA.[235] The objective of this agreement is to establish a relationship of collaboration and mutual support to provide a correct and efficient procedure for importing industrially processed food of animal origin (except for fish and aquaculture products) intended for human consumption, as listed in the Annex to the agreement.[236] The key points of the agreement include: (a) the inclusion of the animal health requirements established by SENASA in the sanitary authorization for industrially processed foods of animal origin destined for human consumption under DIGESA jurisdiction, as listed in the agreement; such requirements must be included in the Single Official Export Certificate issued by the country of origin; and (b) SENASA and DIGESA to conduct joint inspections of imports of the foods covered by the agreement at the points of entry into Peru, establishing a single inspection procedure. SENASA is in charge of the animal health inspection, and DIGESA is responsible for sanitary inspection. The process for implementing the agreement is described in Box 3.2

3.171.  DIGESA uses Ministerial Resolution No. 850-2016, Standards for the Preparation of Ministry of Health Regulatory Documents, as a basis for preparing health regulations and notifying the WTO. During the period under review, DIGESA's health-related notifications to the WTO included the following: Ministerial Resolution No. 372-2016/MINSA, Health Standard establishing the maximum residue limits (MRLs) for veterinary drugs in food for human consumption (G/SPS/N/PER/446), and Ministerial Resolution 1006-2016/MINSA, Health Standard establishing the maximum residue limits (MRLs) for agricultural pesticides in food for human consumption (G/SPS/N/PER/447)

3.172.  The aim of the Law on Food Safety, administered by DIGESA, is to guarantee the safety of food for human consumption using a preventive and comprehensive approach throughout the food chain, also covering animal feed. In order to be sold on the domestic market, processed foods, whether produced locally or imported, require an official document, issued by DIGESA and processed through the VUCE, confirming their inclusion on the Sanitary Register of Food and Beverages for Human Consumption.[237] Imported processed foods also need a certificate of sanitary registration for imported products.[238] In order to export food and beverages under DIGESA jurisdiction, the goods must have been produced in establishments that have obtained sanitary authorization, i.e. establishments that implement the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system.[239] The food or beverages are inspected and analysed for sanitary surveillance purposes. DIGESA also monitors the storage and distribution of food for human consumption to ensure that the products in question are safe and of appropriate quality, and that they meet the relevant sanitary requirements

3.173.  DIGESA's sanitary projects for 2019 include the following: preparation of general principles of food-product traceability along the food chain, for food safety purposes (in collaboration with SANIPES); drafting of a supreme decree to organize and specify certification of the General Principles of Hygiene (PGH) and HACCP for industrially processed foods, which bases the mandatory nature of these sanitary self-control systems on risk; development of sanitary guidelines that specify methods, techniques and procedures for inspection, sampling and analysis for official sanitary certification for the exportation of industrially processed food products intended for human consumption; preparation of a sanitary standard for the production of wine-based alcoholic beverages and by‑products; and development of a sanitary standard for table olives.[240]

3.174.  SENASA's competencies in relation to the safety of primary agricultural food and feedstuffs are regulated by Supreme Decree No. 004-2011-AG approving the Agri-Food Safety Regulations, published on 27 April 2011; and by Supreme Decree No. 006-2016-MINAGRI amending and supplementing the Agri-Food Safety Regulations, published in the Official Journal El Peruano on 4 June 2016. The purpose of these legal instruments is to establish provisions to guarantee the safety of primary agricultural food and feedstuffs, with the aims of protecting human life and health, recognizing and securing the rights and interests of consumers, and promoting the competitiveness of national agriculture. Article 40 of Supreme Decree No. 004-2011-AG establishes requirements for the entry or international transit of primary agricultural food and feedstuffs, which include sanitary certification or its equivalent, issued by the country of origin or by a recognized certification body, and inspection at the border. It also provides that the sanitary and phytosanitary requirements must be the same whether the product is of domestic origin or imported. Article 40A of the Decree provides details of the custody procedure. The products regulated by SENASA's Food Safety Sub-Directorate (SIAG) are listed in Departmental Resolution No. 0162-2017-MINAGRI-SENASA

3.175.  The National Fisheries Health Service (SANIPES) regulates and oversees health and safety services at the national level for fish and aquaculture products and feedstuffs and ingredients thereof of hydrobiological origin that are intended for hydrobiological species, as well as complementary and related services provided by public or private agents related to the fishery and aquaculture sector. SANIPES approves fishery and aquaculture sanitary regulations in conformity with national regulations and international sanitary and phytosanitary measures and standards, including the provisions of the Codex Alimentarius and those of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), within its sphere of competency. It also issues certificates of compliance with sanitary regulations on fishery and aquaculture infrastructures, and the health, safety and traceability of hydrobiological products and veterinary and food products for use in aquaculture. To this end, inspections are carried out to verify compliance with national and international sanitary regulations (if applicable) and those contained in good practice manuals, descriptive reports, hygiene and sanitation manuals and the HACCP plan, among others. SANIPES also applies preventive administrative measures in respect of a danger or risk to public health and/or the health status of the aquatic zones and/or compartments where the hydrobiological resources are located

3.176.  Between January 2013 and April 2019, Peru submitted 350 substantive notifications through SENASA, relating to the adoption of SPS measures (495 including additions). Most of these measures were adopted to protect plant health. Nearly all were regular notifications, with only 10 emergency measures being notified (relating to beef, poultry, eggs, canned fish and ruminants)

3.177.  During the period under review, no trade concerns were raised regarding sanitary or phytosanitary measures adopted by Peru. On the other hand, Peru did raise concerns regarding measures adopted by other Members.[241]