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Sanitary and phytosanitary measures

Problem: How do you ensure that your country’s consumers are being supplied with food that is safe to eat — “safe” by the standards you consider appropriate? And at the same time, how can you ensure that strict health and safety regulations are not being used as an excuse for protecting domestic producers?

An agreement on how governments can apply food safety and animal and plant health measures (sanitary and phytosanitary or SPS measures) sets out the basic rules in the WTO.

> SPS Notification Submission System
National Notification Authorities can now use the SPS Notification Submission System (SPS NSS) to fill out and submit SPS notifications online.
> SPS Information Management System
a database of WTO information on SPS (Notifications, concerns raised, other documents, enquiry points, etc)

SEE ALSO
> Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF)
> Agriculture
> Technical barriers to trade 

SPS news  back to top

Includes unofficial and less technical summaries of SPS Committee meetings

> See also Work on SPS in the WTO, below

Introduction  back to top

• Current issues in SPS
  Explanations of current issues and links to follow latest developments

• Introduction to WTO rules on sanitary and phytosanitary measures
  Links to part of the standards and safety section of the WTO guide “Understanding the WTO”
  (Click your browser’s “back” button to return to this page.)

• “Understanding the SPS Agreement” (text only)
  A more technical introduction

• Interactive course: Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)

The mandate  back to top

• Browse or download the text of the SPS Agreement from the legal texts gateway

• WTO Agreements series: SPS — booklet containing the text of the SPS Agreement  and an explanation designed to help the user understand the text.

• Compilation of all major decisions and documents on the SPS Agreement’s implementation

• Find decisions of WTO bodies concerning the SPS Agreement in the Analytical Index — Guide to WTO Law and Practice

• Review of the operation and implementation of the Agreement of the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures. Committee Report of the Third Review adopted in 2010.

  The Doha mandate: SPS in the 2001 ministerial decision on implementation

Work on SPS in the WTO, and official documents  back to top

Work on this subject is handled by the SPS Committee, which reports to the Goods Council. The work is officially recorded in the committee’s annual reports to the General Council and in summary reports (equivalent to minutes) of the committee’s meetings. See here for the current Chairperson of the SPS Committee.

> Search here for SPS documents

Subscribe here to receive all unrestricted SPS documents by e-mail, usually twice a week, normally only in the original language (English, French or Spanish).

Members’ transparency toolkit  back to top

Notification formats, handbooks, links to members’ SPS websites and other aids for members’ transparency work in SPS.

Events, workshops and training  back to top

Find information on planned and recently held activities.

Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF)  back to top

A joint initiative of the World Trade Organization, World Health Organization, World Bank, World Organization for Animal Health and Food and Agriculture Organization for enhancing developing countries’ capacity to meet SPS standards. Work includes sharing information on technical cooperation, and finance for projects.

External links  back to top

Find links to relevant standard setting bodies, FAO's SPS Portal, observer organizations, etc.