ASEAN Trade Repository

Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures are applied to:

• Protect human or animal life from risks arising from additives, contaminants, toxins or disease-causing organisms in their food;
• Protect human life from plant- or animal-carried diseases;
• Protect animal or plant life from pests, diseases, or disease-causing organisms;
• Prevent or limit other damage to a country from the entry, establishment or spread of pests; and
• Protect bio-diversity.

As clarified in Annex A of the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, SPS measures comprise all relevant laws, decrees, regulations, requirements and procedures including, inter alia: end product criteria; processes and production methods; testing, inspection, certification and approval procedures; quarantine treatments, including relevant requirements associated with the transport of animals or plants, or with the materials necessary for their survival during transport; provisions on relevant statistical methods, sampling procedures and methods of risk assessment; and packaging and labelling requirements directly related to food safety.
 
SPS measures can be classified into the following sub-categories:

• Prohibitions/restrictions of imports for SPS reasons;
• Tolerance limits for residues and restricted use of substances;
• Labelling, marking and packaging requirements;
• Hygienic requirements;
• Treatment for elimination of plant and animal pests and disease-causing organisms in the final product;
• Other requirements on production or post-production processes;
• Conformity assessment related to SPS; and
• SPS measures not elsewhere specified.

As suggested by the UNCTAD’s 2012 NTM classification and reflected in the classification reproduced in Annex 1, SPS measures are further classified as follows:

• Prohibitions/restrictions of imports for SPS reasons;
• Tolerance limits for residues and restricted use of substances;
• Labelling, marking and packaging requirements;
• Hygienic requirements;
• Treatment for elimination of plant and animal pests and disease-causing organisms in the final product (e.g., post-harvest treatment);
• Other requirements on production or post-production processes;
• Conformity assessment related to SPS; and
• SPS measures not elsewhere specified.