Suspension of germplasm destined for the EU

14 February 2007

Voluntary suspension of germplasm destined for the EU

Biosecurity New Zealand has voluntarily suspended export certification of bovine semen and embryos to the European Union (EU) in response to a draft audit of New Zealand’s certification system against EU requirements.

This is the first time the EU Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) has undertaken an audit of New Zealand’s systems in respect of germplasm (semen and embryos) exports to Europe. Audits of dairy and red meat export certification did not raise any major issues.

The decision to voluntarily suspend germplasm certification will allow time to review the FVO report and prepare a management plan to address the deficiencies the EU has noted.

“Biosecurity New Zealand has moved quickly to address the concerns raised by the FVO as we believe it important that we protect the integrity and credibility of our certification processes”, said Biosecurity New Zealand Policy Director, Douglas Birnie.

The FVO will submit a full report to Biosecurity New Zealand within 20 working days; Biosecurity New Zealand will then have a further 25 working days to respond to the audit report.

Certification will be withheld until Biosecurity New Zealand is satisfied the issues identified in the draft audit report have been addressed.

ENDS

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