3.56.  The MAF is Samoa's SPS enquiry point. To date, Samoa has not submitted any SPS notifications

3.57.  The food safety legislation comprises, inter alia, the Health Ordinance, 1959, the Food Act, 2015, and the Slaughter and Meat Supply Act, 2015

3.58.  The Health Ordinance is the overarching legal framework for public health and food safety. It authorizes the CEO of the Ministry of Health to conduct ad hoc inspections (Art. 51). Samoa currently has five food safety inspectors. Environmental Health Officers are responsible for inspecting food premises in relation to sanitation, water supply, and occupational health and safety

3.59.  The Food Act, 2015 conveys powers on the Minister of Health to ensure that food is safe and suitable for human consumption; to improve nutrition; to prevent misleading sale of food; and to comply with Samoa's international obligations. The Act regulates, inter alia, the handling of food; labelling; food businesses; and food imports, exports, and inspection. The Ministry may prepare regulations, orders, standards, codes of practice and notices under the Act (Section 17). An advisory committee (the Food and Nutrition Policy Committee), comprising various ministries and a consumer representative, has been established.[57]

3.60.  Under the Food Act, Samoa adopted the Food (Safety and Quality) Regulations, 2017. These set out labelling requirements, prohibited claims, and a table of conditions for nutrient content claims. A 12-month transition period for enforcing the new labelling rules ended in 2018. The Regulations comprise mandatory standards, which, according to the authorities, are based on Codex standards. They are applicable to: eggs; fish and fisheries products; cereals and cereal products; salt; fruit drinks; fruit and vegetables; noni juice; infant formula; meat and meat products; and sugar. The Regulations also include standards in terms of maximum permitted levels of chemical contaminants, and maximum limits on microbiological contaminants in food. Furthermore, they foresee the development of a list of "high-risk foods and foods of regulatory interest" requiring prior notice/approval before importation (Art. 54)

3.61.  The mandatory standard for eggs, whereby eggs must be labelled with a "sell-by date", is enhanced by the Prohibition Order on the Importations of Eggs Without Sell-By Date (Or Best Before Date or Expiration Date), 2010

3.62.  On 25 May 2018, a new standard and regulation for kava ('ava in Samoan) entered into force. Ava plays an important role in ceremonies and in the Samoan way of life (fa'asamoa), as well as in trade. The voluntary standard and the regulation aim to improve the quality of 'Ava, from production, handling, and processing to sale and export, and to ensure that the product is safe for human consumption. The Food ('Ava) Regulations were adopted pursuant to the Food Act, 2015

3.63.  The Slaughter and Meat Supply Act, 2015 complements the Food Act, 2015 with regard to food safety and hygiene matters in meat establishments and slaughterhouses.[58] The promulgation of implementing regulations under this Act is pending. The first regulated abattoir, a mobile slaughtering unit, opened in 2016, and a static slaughter unit is due to open

3.64.  Samoa is a member of the FAO Codex Alimentarius. Its National Codex Committee comprises nine members (the MCIL as chair; the Ministry of Health; the MAF; the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment; the Samoa Water Authority; the Samoa Association of Manufacturers and Exporters; the Samoa Chamber of Commerce; the Samoa Consumers Association; and Women in Business Development Inc.) and two observer organizations (FAO, and WHO). Harmonization and other initiatives by the Committee are guided by a Strategic Plan for 2017-21.[59] Samoa is also a member of the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN)

3.65.  Samoa is a member of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), the Pacific Plant Protection Organization, and the South Pacific Community (SPC), and is in the process of joining the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). The Ministry of Agriculture functions as the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) and contact point for the IPPC

3.66.  In addition to the above, the legal framework for veterinary and phytosanitary measures comprises the following acts and regulations: a. Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries Ordice, 1959 this constitutes the overarching legal framework for the responsibilities of the MAF; b. Quarantine (Biosecurity) Act, 2005 the Samoa Quarantine Services of the MAF are responsible for the implementation of SPS measures under the Biosecurity Act. The Act consolidates legislation with regard to imports of (SPS) regulated products and is currently under review. Following the enactment (pending) of the Animal Health Bill, the Plant Protection Bill, and the Quarantine Bill, the Biosecurity Act is to be repealed. The Quarantine Bill incorporates import and export measures regarding biosecurity risks; c. Plants and Soils Importation (Disease Control) Ordice, 1950 and Regulations, 1951 the Ordice is to be repealed after the passage of the Plant Protection Bill; and d. Produce Export Ordice, 1961[60] - the CEO of the MAF is given authority under this Ordice to conduct ad hoc inspections of premises where primary products are grown and stored for export. The ability to conduct ad hoc inspections is to ensure that the export of produce from Samoa adheres to the agreements with importing countries of the agreed export standards. Furthermore, the Head of State, acting on the advice of the Cabinet, "may at any time restrict or prohibit during any specified period the export of any class of produce if, in his or her opinion, such restriction or prohibition is expedient either to prevent a shortage of any necessity of life of the people of Samoa or to maintain the standard of the produce exported from Samoa" (Article 8)

3.67.  Samoa maintains a "List of Approved Import Commodities" that is based on import risk analysis by the Samoa Quarantine Services, according to the authorities.[61] For approved import commodities, an import permit or international health/phytosanitary certificate is required.[62] Imports of products, or from countries, other than those listed, are prohibited. Beef imports, for example, are permitted only from Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa, the United States, Fiji and Vanuatu. The list also includes approved active ingredients of pesticides

3.68.  Import permits are granted by the MAF, following an import risk analysis (IRA) which evaluates the pest status of the country of origin, and with the recommendations of the Quarantine Export Advisory Committee (QEAC), which is composed of technical personnel, and the principal veterinarian. Import permits may be issued with or without conditions. According to the authorities, the IRA procedures are in line with the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM). Samoa recognizes pest-free areas within countries. Fees charged for import permits amount to WST 190 a year for commercial importers, and WST 10 per shipment for private importers. All imported plants and plant materials are subject to inspection. Information on import requirements is available on the Samoa Quarantine website (www.samoaquarantine.gov.ws), and the Secretariat of the South Pacific Community maintains a database of quarantine pests (http://pld.spc.int/pld/)

3.69.  As regards veterinary measures, a specific import prohibition applies to honey and bees (Bee and Bee Products Prohibition Order, 1999), to contain the spread of American Foulbrood and other infectious honey bee diseases. Samoa is free of foot-and-mouth disease and Newcastle disease. All approved fresh and processed meat products and livestock require import permits from the MAF

3.51.  The Competition and Consumer Act, 2016, the Food Act, 2015, and the Metrology Act, 2015 are the main pieces of legislation governing Samoa's TBT regime. Its TBT enquiry point is the Fair Trading, Codex Alimentarius, Consumer Protection and Metrology Division of the MCIL. Samoa provided a notification regarding the implementation and administration of the TBT Agreement (Article 15.2).[52]

3.52.  There is no single standardization body in Samoa. The development and implementation of technical regulations falls under the portfolios of various ministries and agencies, such as the MCIL and the Office of the Regulator for the telecommunications, electricity, broadcasting and postal sectors. According to the authorities, the regulatory and standard-setting bodies pursue policies based on international standards, and the Government is committed to making use of standards, guidelines and recommendations developed by international standard-setting bodies as the basis for its national technical regulations.[53] Samoa does not have formal conformity assessment procedures. The Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa (SROS) is the accredited laboratory for food testing (bottled water, cocoa-based products etc)

3.53.  The Competition and Consumer Act, 2016[54] confers powers to the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Labour to prescribe product safety or quality standards by regulation for any kind of goods, including performance, testing and labelling requirements, in relation to preventing or reducing the risk of injury to persons (Section 88). To date, Samoa has one technical regulation (mandatory standard), which is implemented under the Competition and Consumer Act, 2016, namely the Fair Trading (Toy Approved Standards) Regulations, 2013

3.54.  The development of technical regulations or mandatory standards is subject to the following procedures (as for all legislation): first draft; consultations; second draft; approval by ministry and minister; Attorney General's certificate; Cabinet approval; and assent by the Head of State. A technical regulation comes into force on its publication in the Official Gazette (Savali). All technical regulations are posted on the Parliament website (www.palemene.ws) for public information

3.55.  As far as (non-food) labelling requirements are concerned, regulations exist for the following products: a. Pesticides - pesticides are subject to import restrictions. Imports, storage and use of pesticides are regulated by the MAF, pursuant to the Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries Amendment Act, 1989 and the Pesticides Regulations, 2011.[55] Pesticides must be registered before an import licence is issued, to which a copy of the pesticide label is attached. Articles 22 and 23 of the Regulations set out the labelling requirements. b. Equipment subject to mandatory energy efficiency standards a technical regulation on energy-efficiency standards entered into force on 5 March 2018 (not notified to the WTO).[56] It was adopted pursuant to the Energy Efficiency Act, 2017, and concerns mainly the registration and labelling of certain household appliances (refrigerators and freezers; air conditioners; and light bulbs). Samoa accepts models that have been registered in Australia, Fiji and New Zealand. This regulation is implemented by the Energy Division of the Ministry of Fice