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
  For more information on contacting FSIS, click here.To speak to a real person, call FSIS in Omaha Nebraska at 1-800-233-3935 or the Foreign Affairs office in DC for direct export assistance at 855-444-9904.
  • For country by country requirements, click here.
    
    
• APHIS has an office in North Carolina.  The main number is (919) 855-7700. The Export Document Examiner office is (919) 855-7701.
  

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

• USDA Trade Facilitaion Desk
  The trade facilitation desk is designed to provide a "one stop shop" approach for U.S. exporters and relevant stakeholders, where they can obtain technical information such as: certification, documentation, registration, etc. Contact the desk at  exportassist@fas.usda.gov  or 202.690.3576.

• 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