Unregistered perishable exporters risk 'excommunication'

LEONARD NEILL JANUARY 1 was D-day for perishable exporters to register with the Department of Agriculture. All companies - including freight forwarders and transport operators - involved in the export of perishable products of plant origin risk being barred if they haven't met the deadline. The regulations introduced last year are designed to ensure that producers, packers, processors and all handling parties conform with international traceable requirements. This enables authorities to trace food products at all stages of production from reaping to final distribution. Registration is mandatory for production units (vegetable and tea growers, farms, packhouses, cold stores and processing plants), and transport operators which include hauliers, freight forwarders as well as seaport and airport terminal operators and silos. Products affected are fresh, canned and frozen fruit and vegetables, dried fruit, ground nuts, grains and rooibos and honeybush tea. Owners of trucks involved in transportation are not required to register individual vehicles as long as these are already licensed in their or their companies' names. Operators must, however, be able to identify at any stage any person or supplier of the products, and have in place systems and procedures to identify other businesses to which their food products have been supplied.