The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has released a draft Veterinary Health Certificate (VHC) for the import of pork and pork products into India. The proposed certificate will apply to all categories of processed and unprocessed pork products and outlines detailed sanitary, animal health, food safety, and certification requirements that exporting countries must meet before shipment to India.
The draft certificate requires exporting consignments to provide comprehensive documentation, including product description, HS code, manufacturer details, establishment approval numbers, batch identification, manufacturing and expiry dates, quantity, packaging type, and Sanitary Import Permit (SIP) or Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) license information. The certificate must be issued by an official veterinarian from the competent authority in the exporting country.
The sanitary certification section establishes strict animal health conditions based on international standards, particularly those of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). Exported pork must originate from animals born and raised in the exporting country and sourced from zones free from major swine diseases, including Foot and Mouth Disease, African Swine Fever, Classical Swine Fever, Aujeszky’s disease, Porcine brucellosis, and Transmissible Gastroenteritis. Additional requirements ensure that animals are subjected to ante-mortem and post-mortem veterinary inspections in approved slaughterhouses and that establishments comply with relevant biosecurity and disease surveillance protocols.
The draft also includes specific controls for Trichinella infection, requiring either certification from negligible-risk compartments or negative testing using approved diagnostic methods. Requirements are also included to address Taenia solium, ensuring pork originates from disease-free zones or undergoes adequate inspection or processing to inactivate cysticerci.
Additional provisions ensure that pork products do not contain bovine, ovine, caprine, or poultry tissues, and confirm that animals have not been fed feed containing internal organs, blood meal, or tissues derived from cattle. The draft further requires establishments to implement antimicrobial usage monitoring systems and comply with biosecurity measures to control pathogens such as Campylobacter and Salmonella.
For processed pork products, the draft specifies acceptable processing methods including canning with heat treatment reaching at least 70°C for 30 minutes, thorough cooking under equivalent thermal conditions, or drying after salting with a defined water-to-protein ratio not exceeding 2.25:1.
In addition to veterinary certification, the draft requires compliance with Indian food safety regulations administered by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Exporters must confirm that the products comply with the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, microbiological limits specified in Appendix B, contaminant and residue limits under the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011, and food additive provisions listed in Appendix A. Establishments must also operate a Food Safety Management System based on HACCP principles.
The draft certificate further notes that upon arrival in India, consignments will undergo inspection and sampling by Animal Quarantine and Certification Services and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, including testing for diseases such as African Swine Fever, Aujeszky’s disease, and Classical Swine Fever. The cost of testing will be borne by the importer, and non-compliant consignments may be subject to regulatory action.
The proposed Veterinary Health Certificate will be valid for 90 days from the date of issue and forms part of the regulatory framework governing imports under the Livestock Importation Act, 1898 and associated rules.
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