In 2024, the European Union (EU) passed Article 118, which sets forth additional public health requirements related to the use of antimicrobials used in human health and antimicrobials used for growth promotion. The USDA Export Verification (EV) Program for Natural Pork Casings for the EU is a voluntary, user-fee service available to pork harvest facilities to provide verification that natural pork casings are derived from animals that meet the EU public health requirements. Processors who wish to meet the specified product requirements for the EU under the USDA EV Program for Natural Pork Casings for the EU Program must meet these requirements through an approved USDA Quality System Assessment (QSA) Program. The AMS verification activities will be conducted on a fee-for-service basis, at the current hourly audit rate.
Processors that intend to supply other entities that will export to the EU must be approved in this program to obtain an export certificate from FSIS. Requirements for this program are outlined in the QAD 1016 Procedure USDA EV Program for Natural Pork Casings for the EU, which can be accessed below under Additional Resources. Further requirements for product certification can be found in the FSIS Export Library.
To apply for this program, send an email requesting service with the quality manual, all relevant procedures, and a completed LP-109 Application for Service to QAD.Auditservice@usda.gov.
The approved Programs listed on the Official Listing below have been found in conformance with the requirements of the USDA EV Program for Natural Pork Casings for the EU. The suppliers listed below have been audited and approved by AMS and have been found in conformance with the requirements for the European Union.
Additional Resources