Objectives
Official veterinarians of the Administration of Veterinary Services (ASV) perform controls to certify the health status of animals or animal products.
These controls aim to prevent or eliminate any risks that could arise for humans and animals, and prevent any spread of disease or parasites, or reduce such risks to an acceptable level.
They verify that the legal obligations applicable to labeling are applied (additives, origin, ingredients, "use by" date, etc.).
The TRACES system is used to record and track the entry of goods and the movements of live animals in the European Union (EU). Import certification being done in TRACES permits to record the controls conducted.
Related products
The following products need controls:
- live animals
- animal products intended for human consumption
For example: eggs, milk, meat, etc. - straw and hay intended for animal feed
- animal products not intended for human consumption.
For example: hunting trophies, raw skins, serums.
Execution steps
When animals are transported (at import, export, transits or in intra-community movements) or when animal products are transported (at import and export), the ASV carries out three types of controls:
- documentary: verifying the regulatory compliance of the certificates, veterinary documents or other documents accompanying a lot/animal
- identity: verifying by visual inspection the consistency between the documents and the product/animal
- physical: inspecting the product/animal itself, this may include the collection of samples and laboratory testing or the control of packaging and temperature.
The ASV in particular carries out controls on identification and on the well-being of animals during transport.
The animals and animal products originating from third countries are controlled at the Border Inspection Post (BIP), the single border point of entry, located at the Cargo Center at the Luxembourg Airport.
Control of animals/products intended for export in general will be conducted at the place of origin or at an agreed gathering place.
The frequency of physical controls depends on the origin of the animals or products. Analyses are carried out on samples either randomly, either on a targeted basis according to the strategy defined by the veterinary services, or in the case of suspicion.
Special import conditions may be applied to animals or products depending on the country of origin. In this case tests and certificates are often required prior to import.
The fees for veterinary controls of live animals or animal products depend on the tonnage of goods carried.
Related organizations
The Administration of Veterinary Services carries out the required controls on live animals and animal products.
Any establishment or farm producing, manufacturing, processing, doing warehousing, transport or distribution operations must be registered with the ASV and will be controlled on a regular basis by the ASV.