February 14, 2019

Mexico's government published the final version of the new compositional technical regulation for cheese, NOM-223-SCFI-SAGARPA-2018, in the Diario Oficial on January 31, 2019. Implementation of this regulation is scheduled for 365 days from the date of publication.

An unofficial English translation of the final regulation is available here.  A summary of the regulation follows:

• The scope of the cheese technical regulation is ripened and unripened natural cheese. Whey cheese, processed cheese and analog cheese are excluded.
• Cheese must meet the physico-chemical specifications of either:
  • Mexican voluntary standards (see 2.13 - 2.26); or
  • Codex varietal standards (see 2.33 - 2.49); or
  • If there is not a Mexican varietal standard or Codex standard for the variety, this Mexican general cheese standard

For products with both a Mexican cheese standard and Codex standard (i.e. Cheddar), the exporter can determine which standard their product will meet. USDEC will be incorporating the physico-chemical specifications of the Mexican varietal standards into Volume 3 of the Export Guide.

• The raw materials allowance is milk (fluid or powdered), cream, butterfat and butter
• As optional ingredients, up to 2% milk protein concentrate, casein or caseinate are allowed
• Starch is permitted as an anti-caking agent on shredded cheese in accordance with Codex
• Additives are allowed as per Mexico's food additive regulation
• Labeling information in the NOM applies only to products subject to the pre-packaged labeling regulation
• An optional provision on labeling cheese as "100% from milk" is included for cheeses that do not contain milk protein concentrate, casein, or caseinate
• A conformity assessment procedure will be developed but is not yet part of the text of the regulation

USDEC will be holding 2 conference calls to address member questions on this final cheese technical regulation:

• Tuesday, February 19, 2 - 2:30 pm ET/11 - 11:30 am PT
• Tuesday, February 26, 12 - 12:30 pm ET/ 9 - 9:30 am PT

Contact Sandra Benson at sbenson@usdec.org to register for one of these sessions or with any questions on the text of the regulation.