International Trade Office

Export Certification Resources

Vegetables, Plants and Live Animals

• NCDA Plant Protection
  Export Certification documentation for plants and plant products
  Find your local export certification specialist here
  

• USDA APHIS - North Carolina
  Export certification, animal and plant health inspection service
  -For plants, click here (and ask for Susan P. Kostelecky)

• Phytosanitary Certificate Issuance & Tracking System (PCIT)
  For information on Phytosanitary Certificates contact Susan P. Kostelecky of USDA APHIS at 919-583-0033 x1. You can apply for a Phytosanitary Certificate on line through PCIT system. The PCIT system tracks the inspection of agricultural products and certifies compliance with plant health standards of importing countries. 

• International Livestock Marketing
  For information about exporting live animals, contact Bruce Shankle of NCDA's International Livestock Marketing section.

Meat and Egg

• Grading Services
  NCDA grading services, often required for exports, for meat grading, poultry grading, regulatory, grain grading, fruit, vegetable & peanut grading, and food safety audit verification
  

• Library of Export Requirements for Meat, Poultry & Processed Egg Products
  To speak to a real person, call FSIS Export Staff in Omaha Nebraska at 1-800-233-3935. Bypass the phone system, go strait to the operator, and ask for "export assistance." For more information on contacting FSIS, click here. For country by country requirements, click here.
  

Processed Foods

Unlike meat and vegetables, there is no one repository for information on export requirements in overseas markets for processed foods. NCDA&CS Food and Drug Division's Food Program certifies production and issues certificates of Free Sale, which is normally sufficient. However, for detailed information about your product in a specific market, contact the Agriculture Trade Officer (ATO) in the U.S. Embassy in that market.

• NCDA&CS Food and Drug Protection
  NCDA grading services, often required for exports, for meat grading, poultry grading, regulatory, grain grading, fruit, vegetable & peanut grading, and food safety audit verification

• FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
  FDA offers an Outreach and Information Center, primarily for the domestic market, at 1-888-723-3366

Other

• Certificates of Free Sale
  What they are and how to get one.

• HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point)
  What it is? How to get it.
  
  
• US Customs Offices in North Carolina
  Resource for information on import regulation