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New on the Website
2008 Conference
Calendar of Events
Please let us know if you have ideas for information that could be included on the website.
Information about Members and Associates is being regularly updated and will soon include phone and fax numbers. You are encouraged to review your details and let me know if any changes or updates are needed.
NZFSA VA News
EU Audit January
NZFSA is still waiting for the written report from the EU following the audit earlier this year. However, from the perspective of cool stores, the main issue arising from the review was in the area of environment management. It was found at several sites visited that the areas surrounding coolstores was not being maintained very well and that the build up of old equipment and general lack of maintenance outside was unacceptable. Some of you will have noticed the impact from this in the last few weeks about this, in particular making sure that stillages that have been stored outside are cleaned up before re-use. It is likely that a Technical Brief will be issued by Chris Mawson (Agency Technical Manager) soon to expand on this and what expectations are.
Other Activity for 2008
Several other overseas reviews are due during 2008 ensuring that resources of NZFSA will be run ragged and that premises will be under pressure to ensure they are spick and span!
United States – reviewers from the US will be here during April/May with a focus on meat premises which may or may not include coolstores.
Philippines – visiting during early April to review meat and poultry premises.
Russia – timing and details are unknown but apparently the Russian reviewers are very “demanding” so expect some noise around this when it happens.
EU – another group is coming (not yet scheduled) to review the seafood sector. This will be the first seafood review for many years so .... watch this space.
E-cert Resubmit Rate
There still appears to be a level of concern regarding e-cert resubmit rates and the issuing of CARs for a rate higher than 12%. VA have been asked to ensure that clear explanations/reasons are given for all resubmit requests. We have also requested a level of “understanding” so that in justifiable cases, a resubmit request can be avoided by an email or a phone call to the e-cert user while the e-cert is still able to be amended.
The VA procedure for dealing with resubmit requests has been sent to the Association (as well as other sector groups). Anyone who would like to view this document and make comments should contact me.
Other Matters
Circuit Restructuring - The following changes in circuit staff will be effective from 21 April:
Rodney Walker, current Regional Technical Manager (RTM) Southland, has been appointed to Wellington as an RTM to manage the specialists and liaise with other parts of NZFSA.
The Canterbury circuit area will increase in size to include premises and circuit activities in Timaru. The Southland Team will incorporate activities up to and including Oamaru. The Waitaki river will be the boundary. Colin O'Connor will be the RTM for Southland/Otago replacing Rodney. Mark Neilson (current RTM Otago) will be RTM Canterbury replacing Sandra Costley. Sandra is returning to Hawke Bay to be the circuit veterinarian.
Cost Recovery - Discussions regarding cost recovery are due to be held with VA in the coming months. I will advise of this closer to the event.
Your Issues
If you have issues with VA audits or e-certs or any other aspect of compliance, please contact me if you are having problems resolving the situation yourself. It may be an issue that other companies are having and that needs to be addressed at a “Wellington” level.
Electronic Certification Update
International Progress
NZFSA has made significant progress internationally in obtaining acceptance of the NZ e-cert system. The XML standard used by the NZ system and developed by both NZFSA and AQIS is now accepted by the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) as the recognised means for international exchange of electronic data.
Major importing countries have also accepted e-cert and are either already clearing consignments through border inspection access to certificates or are trialling this process. They are also largely committed to a paperless certification system. However, there is a major stumbling block with this in that legislation changes will be required in all countries to allow certification to be electronic only. It is unlikely that these changes will be made in the near future. This applies in particular to Canada, US, and EU.
The result is that NZ companies will be required to send hard copy export certificates with consignments for some time to come.
Recent E-cert Activity
EU Certificates
The main activity for the e-cert team recently has been implementation of changes to the format of EU export certificates. The EU is requiring that export certificates must be presented in a format that exactly matches their legislation. This will be seen by many as a “backward step” but it appears that there is no choice in the matter. The new format is due to be released for use in May this year.
Server Upgrade
As part of a larger project (see below), the e-cert servers are currently being upgraded to provide improved performance and capacity. They will “go live” in May.
As a consequence of this upgrade, server speed increase and will result in e-cert transactions being completed faster. This also means that, in order to allow NZFSA to maintain their current level of income, the cost-per-second for use of e-cert will increase from the billing period to 20 May 2008. The current charge is $0.19 per second. The new charge is expected to be between $0.35 and $0.45 and will be more exactly set after a period of assessment.
Note – your total cost for use of e-cert will not increase as a result of this change to the per-second cost.
Harmonisation of Meat/Seafood E-cert with Dairy E-cert
The major project for e-cert over the next 12 months will be the harmonisation of e-cert so that all animal products certification – including dairy – is managed from a single system. Work on this project is due to start in the second half of this year and be completed by mid-2009.
SOAP/XML Transition
As notified last year, e-cert is moving from FTP to SOAP and from the current batch code to XML. The scheduled date for this transfer to be fully implemented is September 2008.
NZFSA has been working directly with companies that are converting from FTP to SOAP but if there is anyone who would like further information about this method of e-cert submission enquiries should be directed to ecert-admin@nzfsa.govt.nz
Companies currently submitting e-certs via batch files should be in preparation for transfer to XML. In many cases you will be reliant on contractors who provide you with your batch file or certification software. You should make sure that your contractors are aware of the requirement to change to XML and allow sufficient time to implement and trial a new system before September.
For companies which prepare their own batch files from a spreadsheet or other document, it is strongly recommended that you begin the familiarisation process with XML files. This is best done on the e-cert training site where you are not charged for your time on-line. You can also see an XML version of any existing certificate by clicking the “DATA VIEW” button in the top right corner.
Help files for use of XML files are being finalised at the moment and I will advise when this is available.
For more information on any of the items above, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Rachel Harvie
NZ Cold Storage Association
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