The Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement sets rules for food safety and animal and plant health standards in international trade. It aims to ensure measures are scientifically justified and based on risk assessment, while also allowing members to determine their appropriate level of protection. Key provisions include requiring SPS measures to be based on international standards from groups like Codex, OIE, and IPPC, and prioritizing harmonization. The SPS Agreement benefits consumers by ensuring access to safe food and benefits traders and importers by reducing unjustified barriers to trade.

1. SANITARY AND PHYTO SANITARY MEASURES
TO ENSURE FOOD SAFETY

2. INTRODUCTION
• The Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement (SPS)
is an agreement that sets out the basic rules to
ensure food safety, and animal and plant health
standards for international trade.
• In response to international trade, several forums
and conventions were held from time to time and
finally after the successful conclusion of the
Uruguay Round (1986-94) of the trade
negotiations under General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade (GATT), World Trade Organization
(WTO) was formed in 1995.

3. • SPS agreement and others contained in the
Final Act, along with the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade as amended (GATT 1994), are
part of the treaty which established the World
Trade Organization (WTO).
• The WTO superseded the GATT as the umbrella
organization for international trade.

4. • At present there are 148 members of the WTO. As a
member country, India is obliged to uphold WTO
rules and obligations including the Agreement on
the Application of Sanitary (animal) and
Phytosanitary (plant) Measures.
• India, under its commitments to the SPS
Agreement, must consider all import requests from
other countries concerning agricultural products.
• Since the SPS agreement came into force in 1995,
India has gained access to new markets for animal
and plant products and foods.
• To harmonize the International trade, WTO has
drafted 23 Agreements

5. • The most related to Agriculture research and
developments are
– Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)
– Technical Barrier to Trade (TBT)
– Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS)
– Antidumping

6. Definition of SPS Measures
To protect:
–human or
animal life
From:
• additives,
• contaminants,
• toxins
• disease-causing
organisms

7. Definition of an SPS Measures
To protect
• human life
From
• plant-carried or
• animal-carried
diseases (zoonoses)

8. Definition of an SPS Measures
To protect
• animal or plant
life
From
• pests,
• diseases or
• disease-causing
organisms

9. Definition of an SPS Measures
To protect
• a country
From
• damage caused by
the entry,
establishment or
spread of pests

10. SPS Measures
10
Human or risks arising from additives,
animal health contaminants, toxins or disease
organisms in food, drink, feedstuff
A measure taken to protect:
Human life plant- or animal-carried diseases
Animal or pests, diseases, disease-causing
plant life organisms
A country other damage caused by entry,
establishment or spread of pests
from
from
from
from

11. SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY (SPS) MEASURES
• According to SPS Agreement, a SPS measure is any measure
applied
– To protect animal or plant life or health within the territory
of the Member from risks arising from the entry,
establishment or spread of pests, disease- carrying
organisms or disease- causing organisms
– To protect human or animal life or health within the territory
of the Member from risks arising from additives,
contaminants, toxins or disease causing organisms in food,
beverages or feedstuffs
– To protect human life or health within the territory of the
Member from risk arising from diseases carried by animals,
plants or products thereof, or from entry, establishment or
spread of pests or
– To prevent or limit other damage within the territory of the
member from the entry, establishment or spread of pests

12. All measures with SPS purpose
including:
What type of measures?
• Product criteria,
• Quarantine measures,
• Processing
requirements,
• Certifications,
• Inspection,
• Testing,
• Health-related labeling

13. • What SPS Agreement deals?
– All relevant laws
– Decrees
– Regulations requirements
– Procedures and production methods
– Testing
– Inspection
– Certifications and approval procedures
– Quarantine treatment
– Transportation of animals or plants with materials for
their survival during transport
– Method of risk assessment
– Sampling procedures
– Packaging and labeling requirements directly related
to food stuffs.

14. Beneficiaries of the SPS
Agreement:
• The consumers,
• The exporters of agricultural products,
• The importers of food and other
agricultural products.

15. The SPS Agreement helps:
(1)
• To ensure that consumers are being supplied
with safe food to eat – “safe” by the
appropriate standards,
• To ensure that safety regulations are not
being used as an excuse for protection of
domestic producers.

16. The SPS Agreement helps:
(2)
• To eliminate the unnecessary and unjustified
trade barriers,
• To support international competition among
producers regarding safer and healthier food
production,
• To provide greater choice of safe foods for
consumers on the market,

17. The SPS Agreement helps:
(3)
• To increase the amount of available
information for consumers as a result of
greater transparency in governmental
procedures,
• To increase the amount of available
information for importers and to eliminate
unjustified border measures.

18. Key Provisions of the SPS Agreement
1. Non-discrimination
2. Scientific justification
• harmonization
• risk assessment
• consistency
• least trade-restrictiveness
3. Equivalence
4. Regionalization
5. Transparency
6. Technical assistance/special treatment
7. Control, inspection and approval procedures
18

19. 19
Members
shall
ensure
that any
SPS
measure
is:
Scientific justification
applied only to the extent necessary
to protect human, animal or plant life
or health (least trade restrictive)
based on scientific principles
not maintained without sufficient
scientific evidence

20. Scientific Justification
20
OR
International standards
Risk assessment
Measures must be based on

21. Key Principles of SPS
Measures:
• Harmonization,
• Risk assessment,
• Appropriate level of protection,
• Regional conditions,
• Transparency.

22. Harmonization (1)
Harmonization means:
• Establishment,
• Recognition and
• Application of
Common SPS
measures by different
countries.

23. 23
Standard-setting organizations
food safety
CODEX
plant health
IPPC
animal health
OIE
Codex = Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission
OIE = World Organization for Animal Health
IPPC = International Plant Protection Convention (FAO)
Harmonization

24. Harmonization (2)
The SPS Agreement identifies 3
International organizations
responsible for harmonization and
standard setting.

25. Harmonization (3)
The International Organizations are:
• Codex Alimentarius for food safety and
human health,
• International Office of Epizootics for
animal health and zoonoses,
• International Plant Protection Convention
for plant health.

26. – Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) establishes
standards, guidelines, and recommendations for food
safety (including all principle food products).
– The Office of the International des Epizooties (OIE)
develops standards, guidelines, and
recommendations for control of animal health and
zoonoses.
– International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)
develops standards, guidelines, and
recommendations for plant health.

27. BASIC SPS RIGHTS
• SPS Agreement recognizes the sovereign right of each
country to set its own food safety, and animal and plant
health standards. While encouraging countries to use
international standards, the SPS text clearly recognizes
that, under certain circumstances, countries have the
right to maintain standards that are stricter than
international standards to protect human, animal, and
plant health, as long as the more stringent standard is
justified by science.
• In addition, while all SPS measures must be based on a
risk assessment, a country has the right to decide the
appropriate level of risk, subject to the condition that any
arbitrary or unjustified distinction does not result in
discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade.

28. CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION (CAC)
• The organization is working since 1962 for
establishing the food quality and safety standards to
achieve the provisions of SPS and TBT Agreement. It
has 172 members.
• The member delegates meet annually in alternate
years at FAO, Rome and WHO, Geneva. The Codex
Alimentarius meets every two years.
• The delegations consists of governmental and non-
governmental officials but can also include industry
or consumer representatives as well as academic
experts.
• Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can obtain
“observer” status for the participation.

29. Objectives of CAC
• Protection of the health of the
consumers.
• Assurance of fair practices in
food trade.
• Coordination of all food
standards work.

30. OFFICE INTERNATIONAL DES EPIZOOTIES (OIE)
• The OIE is the world organization for animal health
recognized by the SPS Agreement founded on
25th.of January, 1924, headquarter at Paris-France.
• The total members on August 2004 were167.
• The OIE has the three main objectives
– To inform members of the occurrence and course of
diseases throughout the world and of means of
controlling these diseases;
– To co-ordinate international research devoted to the
surveillance and control of animal diseases; and
• To promote the harmonization of health regulations
for trade in animals and animal products among
members

31. How these objectives are achieved?
• These are achieved through different activities
including the establishment of standards, guidelines
and recommendations pertaining to animal health.
• Examples of the OIE work in this area include the
following:
– International Animal Health Code(for mammals, birds,
and bees)
– Manual of Standards for Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines
– International Aquatic Animal Health Code(for fish,
mollusks and crustaceans) and
– Manual for Aquatic Animal Diseases
– Lists of countries recognized as being fee from the most
serious diseases(FMD,R.P)

32. INTERNATIONAL PLANT PROTECTION
CONVENTION(IPPC)
• IPPC is a multilateral treaty for international cooperation in plant
protection.
• The secretariat of the IPPC is located at the FAO headquarters in Rome.
• The convention makes the provision for the application of measures by
Govts. to protect their plant resources from harmful(phytosanitary
measures) which may be introduced through international trade.
• The IPPC is deposited with the Director-General of the FAO and is
administered through the IPPC secretariat located in Plant Protection
Service.
• The SPS Agreement identifies the IPPC as the organization providing
international standards.
• IPPC work includes standards on pest risk analysis, requirements for the
establishment of pest risk analysis, requirements for the establishment
of pest-free areas, and others which give specific guidance on topics
related to the SPS Agreement.

33. Risk Assessment
• A risk assessment is the technical assessment of
the nature and magnitude of risk.
• It involves an effort to quantify the specific level
of risk posed by a substance or situation.
• Countries are obligated to ensure that SPS
measures are based on risk assessment, taking
into account techniques developed by the
relevant international organizations

34. Risk Assessment
Members shall ensure that their SPS
measures are based on
– an assessment, as appropriate, of the risks to
human, animal or plant life or health,
– taking into account risk assessment techniques
developed by the relevant international
organizations.
34

35. Risk assessment:
(1)
• The evaluation of the likelihood of entry,
establishment or spread of a pest or
disease within the territory of an
importing country according to
association with potential biological or
economic consequences;

36. Risk assessment:
(2)
• The evaluation of the potential for
adverse effects on human or animal
health arising from the presence of
additives, contaminants, toxins or
disease-causing organisms in food,
beverages or feedstuffs.

37. Appropriate level of sanitary or
phytosanitary protection:
• The level of protection deemed appropriate
by the country establishing a sanitary or
phytosanitary measure to protect human,
animal or plant life or health within its
territory.
Many countries refer to this concept as the
“acceptable level of risk”.

38. Pest- or disease-free area means:
• An area, whether all of a country, part of
a country or all or parts of several
countries, as identified by the competent
authorities, in which a specific pest or
disease does not occur.

39. Area of low pest or disease
prevalence:
• An area, whether all of a country, part
of a country, or all or parts of several
countries, as identified by the
competent authorities, in which a
specific pest or disease occurs at low
levels and which is subject to effective
surveillance, control or eradication
measures

40. Transparency (1):
Achievement of greater degree of:
• Clarity,
• Predictability and
• Information
regarding trade policy,
rules and procedures of
WTO

41. Transparency (2):
There are three different fields of
activities:
–Publishing regulations,
–Notifications,
–Information.

42. Differences between SPS and TBT
Agreements
SPS
• Based on risk assessment,
• Based on scientific
evidence,
• Risk assessment from
pests, diseases, additives,
contaminants, toxins...
TBT
• Based on legitimate objective:
- national security,
- prevention from deceptive
practice,
- environmental protection,
• Scientific evidence - one
element to consider.

43. • Reference books:
• FOOD SAFETY ,SANITATION and PERSONAL
HYGIENE –by Ernest R. Vieira.
• FOOD SAFETY MANAGEMENT-by A.Roberts
• INTERNET

44. THANK YOU