Food safety in El Salvador is regulated by the recently created Sanitary Regulation Superintendency (SRS). Product registration is required to commercialize food and beverage products in this market. Besides dealing with burdensome regulations, importers also face delays and sometimes discretionary barriers from Customs officials. However, the government administration that took office in June 2024 has been working on trade facilitation by reducing Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) requirements and expediting import procedures. The Government of El Salvador’s (GOES) entity in charge of consumer protection is the Salvadoran Consumer Protection Agency (DDC). The DDC carries out random testing in supermarkets and open-air markets to make sure products are within their expiration dates to avoid human health hazards. Due to El Salvador’s membership to the Central American Customs Union, most of the food and beverage technical regulations are based on regional agreements that outline the norms that are applied in each market in the Central American region.
Certificates of Free Sale are required for imported products. A Certificate of Free Sale, ideally, is a certificate from an official public health agency stating that the product to be imported meets all health and sanitary requirements of that agency and is freely sold and consumed in the country of origin. The certificate can include multiple products and is valid for one year. The certificate must be in Spanish or be accompanied by a copy of an official translation that the importer can provide. For U.S. products, Sanitary Regulation Superintendency (SRS) will accept the Certificate of Free Sale issued by an official U.S. government institution, including local and state government agencies, and the FDA’s Certificate to a Foreign Government. In addition, FAS/USDA has negotiated with GOES the acceptance of the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) 9060-5 certificate for meat and meat products in place of the Certificate of Free Sale. USDA continues to work with GOES to accept official U.S. export certificates and end the Certificate of Free Sale requirement for U.S. food and beverage products. These discussions also include reducing the number and quantity of samples required for product registration and using private labs for product analysis. The GOES has accepted private labs during local holidays and accepts official U.S. export certificates for low-risk processed products to expedite product registration.
Usually, when clearing a product through customs, a customs inspector, a customs officer, and an SRS inspector are involved in the process. English is the commercial language used for importing documents. It takes three to five days to clear a product through customs. Most importers use a customs agent to expedite the clearance procedures. Currently, there is no appeals system in place for disputed product rejections. The steps in custom clearance for prepackaged foodstuff are:
To view the official export certificates required for imported products please download the FAIRS Export Certificate Report Annual.
Food Export–Midwest y Food Export–Northeast administran muchos servicios a través de la financiación del Programa de Acceso al Mercado (MAP) del Servicio Agrícola Extranjero (FAS) del USDA. Las personas con discapacidades que requieran adaptaciones razonables o medios alternativos de comunicación de la información del programa deben comunicarse con nosotros. Además, la información del programa puede estar disponible en otros idiomas además del inglés.
Food Export–Midwest y Food Export–Northeast prohíben la discriminación en todos sus programas y actividades por motivos de raza, color, origen nacional, religión, sexo, identidad de género (incluida la expresión de género), orientación sexual, discapacidad, edad, estado civil, estado familiar/paternidad, ingresos derivados de un programa de asistencia pública, creencias políticas, represalias o represalias por actividades anteriores de derechos civiles.
Para presentar una queja por discriminación del programa, vaya a https://www.ascr.usda.gov/filing-program-discrimination-complaint-usda-customer .
Food Export–Midwest y Food Export–Northeast son empleadores y proveedores que ofrecen igualdad de oportunidades. Food Export–Midwest y Food Export–Northeast no toleran el fraude y están alerta para prevenir el fraude en cualquiera de sus programas. Food Export–Midwest y Food Export–Northeast se reservan el derecho exclusivo de aceptar o rechazar empresas en sus programas. Para conocer las políticas de participación completas y nuestro código de ética, visite: www.foodexport.org/termsandconditions.
