The South African government is now demanding that all health certificates be issued for shipments within 10 days prior to export. The U.S. government (USG) is currently in the process of clarifying South Africa's requirements and official policy related to the certificate date with South African authorities. USDEC will provide an update when South Africa's official policy is clarified. Until then, because shipments with health certificates not issued within 10 days prior to shipment risk being rejected, exporters should take care to request certificates as soon as relevant information, such as the container and seal number, is available.

Any questions can be directed to Bryan Jacoby at bjacoby@usdec.org.