Importing pet food into Chile — SAG Resolución 1233/2013 sanitary rules
Chile's base sanitary framework for imported pet food is Resolución 1233 EXENTA (Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero, SAG, Ministerio de Agricultura), dated 1 March 2013, effective 31 August 2013, which derogates Resolución Nº 53, de 1999. It defines alimentos para mascotas as complete foods, supplements and ingredients intended for companion animals (animales de compañía — species not normally intended for human consumption). Every clause below is a verbatim substring of the first-hand Spanish resolution.
Core import requirements
- Must be covered by an official health certificate from the competent sanitary authority of the country of origin, stating the production establishment, product identification, process applied, quantity and net weight, exporter and consignee, and mode of transport.
- Must be in original sealed and labelled packaging, and before commercialisation must bear a Spanish-language label per current regulation (the importer corrects/completes label information).
BSE / ruminant meat-and-bone meal controls
For dry/semi-moist foods containing animal-origin ingredients, the health certificate must additionally declare that any ruminant meat-and-bone meal originates from a Scrapie-free country recognised by the WOAH/OIE as Insignificante BSE risk (or that none is present). Where present, the MBM must be reduced to a maximum particle size of 50 mm, then thermally treated in saturated steam at ≥133 °C for ≥20 minutes at an absolute pressure of 3 bar, and come from an establishment authorised by SAG for export to Chile.
Microbiological limits (per production batch)
- Salmonella: absent in 25 g — sampling plan n=5, c=0, m=0, M=0.
- Enterobacteriaceae: n=5, c=2, m=10, M=300.
Wet and dehydrated products
Wet complete/supplement foods in hermetic containers with animal ingredients must meet the above plus either 116 °C at product centre for ≥3 minutes (F0 > 3) or botulinum-toxin testing; the container must be hermetic. Dehydrated animal-by-product products require specified thermal treatments (e.g., porcine ≥90 °C/60 min or ≥121 °C/10 min at 3 bar).
Arrival and entry into force
On arrival, products may be subjected to controls at the user's cost. The resolution entered into force 31 August 2013 and repeals Res. Nº 53/1999. Later SAG resolutions amend or supplement it (e.g., contaminant limits and artisanal thermal foods) and are tracked as separate topics.
Sources
CL_SAG_RES1233_2013_petfood— Chile SAG Resolución 1233 EXENTA (2013) primary resolution: definitions, import requirements (official health certificate, Spanish labelling), BSE/ruminant-MBM thermal treatment (133 °C/20 min/3 bar, ≤50 mm), microbiological limits (Salmonella absent/25 g; Enterobacteriaceae n=5 c=2 m=10 M=300), wet-food 116 °C/3 min F0>3 or botulinum test, in force 31 Aug 2013, derogates Res 53/1999.