Mexico's government has proposed revisions to its animal feed regulation, NOM-012-ZOO-1993, Specifications for the regulation of chemical products, pharmaceuticals, biologics and food for use in animals or consumption by animals, which was initially published in 1993 and modified in 2004. The current draft regulation was notified to the WTO through G/TBT/N/MEX/425 on July 6, 2018. USDEC will be submitting comments and is reaching out now to members to request your guidance on concerns with the draft standard. Please send feedback to Sandra Benson at sbenson@usdec.org by Monday, August 13.

Click here for an unofficial English translation of the draft regulation. Changes compared to the current version of the regulation are highlighted in yellow. USDEC has already reviewed the document and listed the areas of concern in comment boxes, including:

• Article 7.1.4 - Stability test requirement for feed with more than 12% moisture
• Article 7.2.1 - Prior to the regulation of finished products, importers must conduct verification in an official laboratory approved or authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture, using the analytical techniques that correspond with the product
• Article 7.2.5.3 - Manufacturers and importers must have quality control documents that support the results obtained by testing for aflatoxin
• Article 7.2.5.3 - Analytical results must be reviewed and endorsed in a lab authorized by Mexico's Ministry of Agriculture
• Article 7.2.5.9.8 - Requires milk supplements for feed to be pigmented with non-toxic dyes

Please review the draft regulation and USDEC's comments and advise if you agree with our comments and have any additional concerns to highlight. Please send feedback to Sandra Benson at sbenson@usdec.org by Monday, August 13. 

USDEC members may also wish to request that their Mexican customers submit comments either directly to the Mexican government as outlined in the draft regulation published in Mexico's Diario Oficial, or through comparable industry associations in Mexico. Comments are due to Mexico's Ministry of Agriculture (SAGARPA) by August 25, 2018 as noted in the WTO notification. Mexico requires all comments received to be submitted in Spanish by the stated deadline. If any USDEC members wish to submit comments directly to Mexico's government, please submit through NIST at least 3 working days prior to the deadline. All comments received will be published as a public record in Mexico's Diario Oficial. Comments to NIST should be sent in both English and Spanish.

Please contact Sandra Benson at sbenson@usdec.org with any questions.