Restrictions for Food Importation
The Brazilian government controls the entrance of animal and vegetable goods into the country in order to prevent pests and diseases. Find out what the restrictions are, and what is required to import food to Brazil.
Travelers around the world love to experience the typical food of the countries they visit. Most of the time travelers not only taste the food, but also bring it in their luggage. This practice, however, is not always accepted by law. In Brazil, the circulation of some imported products are controlled.
The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply – named as MAPA – monitors and controls the entrance of food with ingredients derived from animal and vegetables in the country. MAPA performed the role of sanitary security, preventing pests and diseases from entering Brazil.
The Vigiagro Monitoring and Control
MAPA, through the Agricultural Surveillance International Service – most known as Vigiagro – is responsible for inspecting the luggages of passengers entering the country. Vigiagro operates alongside the Federal Revenue and the National Agency for Sanitary Surveillance – known as ANVISA. They seize products for lack of health certification or authorization, or when they are considered improper for human consumption.
According to Luiz Fernando Ribeiro Barros, head of the Vigiagro unit at the Brasília Internacional Airport, the monitoring work has educational basis. Animal products require special storage conditions in order to prevent risks to human health.
The head of Vigiagro also informed that illegal products can bring harm to the Brazilian population, that's why the role of Vigiagro is so important. From January to June of 2012, the Brasília International Airport confiscated 1,600 pounds of illegal products, while in 2011 more than 2,665 pounds were seized.
Most of the products taken by Vigiagro come from Portugal. Dairy products correspond to 41% of this quantity, fish equivalents to 22%, sausages are rated 10%, followed by seeds, plant seedlings, and plants.
Products Subjected to Approval
The animal and vegetable goods that cannot enter Brazil without a previous authorization of Vigiagro and/or without sanitary certification are:
- fruits and vegetables
- insects, snails, bacteria, and fungi
- flowers, plants or parts of them
- bulbs, seeds, seedlings and cuttings
- pets, such as dogs and cats
- domestic and wild birds/poultry
- exotic species, ornamental fishes, birds, and bees
- fresh or industrialized meat of any animal species, such as cold meat, sausages,ham, salted meat, canned meat and others
- milk and dairy products
- bee products, such as honey, wax and propolis
- eggs and derivatives
- vet biological products
- animal's food
- earth
- wood (not treated)
- pesticides
- biological materials for scientific research
Necessary Certifications and Authorizations
All items mentioned above can't be imported to Brazil or exported from it without previous authorization and certificação fitozoosanitária – a sanitary certification. Only those vegetable products with a higher processed level are free for international travels, such as:
- oils
- alcohol
- preserved fruits
- chocolate
- roasted and ground coffee
- juices
- colouring
- fruits and vegetable pre cooked
- vinegar
- pickles
- fruit pulps
- canned vegetables
- rice
- flour
For purposes of sanitary and quality control of products derived from imported animal and vegetables, the following procedures must be adopted:
| Type | Procedure | When Does the Monitoring and Inspection Occurs? |
| I. | Products subjected to the issuance of LI through Siscomex after the documentation verification and the sanitary and quality monitoring and inspection. | Upon the arrival of the goods, before the custom clearance. |
| II. | Products subjected to the previous import authorization, before shipment, and are also subjected to the granting of LI through Siscomex after the document verification, and the sanitary and quality monitoring and inspection. | In the arrival of the goods, before the custom clearance. |
| III. | Products subjected to the previous import authorization, before shipment, and are also subjected to the granting of LI through Siscomex after the document verification, and the sanitary and quality monitoring and inspection. | After the arrival of the goods, in the place registered and accredited to MAPA after the custom clearance. |
| IV. | Products subjected to the previous import authorization, before shipment, exempted from sanitary and quality inspection at the moment of entrance to Brazil. These products are subjected to document verification, and sanitary and quality monitoring and inspection before the custom clearance. | After the arrival of the good, in the place registered and accredited to MAPA after the custom clearance. |