Certificates for milk and milk products
Milk and milk products
This information applies to the export of the following milk and milk products from cows or buffaloes for human consumption:
- milk, including milk powder, condensed milk
- cream, including UHT and cream products
- buttermilk, curdled milk and cream
- yoghurt
- butter, dairy spreads, and other fats and oils derived from milk
- cheese (including fresh cheese, canned cheese, hard cheese, processed cheese, semi-hard cheese, and cheese powder)
- ice cream and ice-cream mix
- infant formula
- casein, caseinates and other casein derivatives
- lactose and lactose syrup
- whey and whey powder albumins (including concentrates of two or more whey proteins, containing by weight more than 80% whey proteins, calculated on the dry matter) and
- milk proteins (including concentrated milk proteins with a protein content of more than 85% by weight, calculated on the dry matter).
From 29 April 2022, health certificates for milk and milk products exported to the European Union (EU) have been issued via the EU Trade Control and Export System (TRACES-NT) as an eCert (through the department’s Next Export Documentation (NEXDOC) system.
Commodity | Previous template name | eCert extract name |
---|
For the export of milk and milk products (intended for human consumption) | ZDENH1 | EUEXH1 |
Use of transit certificates for milk and milk products
- Transit certificates for product transiting through the EU did not move onto eCert and remain paper based, through the department’s NEXDOC system. The dairy transit certificate for product transiting through the EU is ZDEUHT. The title of the certificate is Animal health Certificate for dairy for human consumption intended for transit through or storage in the EU.
- Transit certificates are required for all milk and milk products (including those made from non-bovine milk) that transit the EU or are stored in the EU.
The transit certificate template only includes the attestations on the certificate for milk and milk products intended for import into the EU that relate to animal health (that is, diseases present in Australia).
-
Northern Ireland
- Northern Ireland continues to use EU paper certificates. Please contact
foodexports@aff.gov.au if you intend to export to Northern Ireland.
Countries included in the move to eCert
The eCert arrangement extends to:
- countries in the EU (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden).
- countries in the EU single market (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).
- The overseas territories of France (Reunion, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte) have yet to be included in the move to eCert. There are currently no export certificates available for prescribed milk and milk products to these markets.
Milk and milk products from sheep or goats
Certificate templates are not available for the export of milk and milk products from sheep or goats or for the transit of these products through the EU. If exporters wish to export or transit these products through the EU, they may
contact the Department to request that a certificate template be developed.
Accessing TRACES-NT
To access TRACES NT you first need to set up an account. This link will outline the process to set up an EU log in and to create an account in TRACES-NT:
Getting started (europa.eu).
TRACES users will need a two-factor authentication. This can be done in several ways, however, for Australian residents the EU Login mobile phone app is the most reliable option.
TRACES NT users should set up the two-factor authentication as soon as possible. To do so, users should go to https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/cas, log in with the username and password they use for TRACES-NT (EU Login account) and follow the instructions.
The European Commission (EC) have created a
video guide explaining the set-up of the two-factor authentication.
A step-by-step guide can be viewed or downloaded in PDF and Word formats here: EU Login - European Commission Authentication Service - Erasmus+ & European Solidarity Corps guides - EC Public Wiki (europa.eu). Please refer to the section:
“Set up Two-factor authentication with the EU Login Mobile app”, which is on page 11 of the PDF document.
A user guide and frequently asked questions relating to EU Login additional instructions can be found on the EU Login Help page.
Once you have created your account in TRACES you need to set up a user role or operator profile. Once this is done please send an email to the EXDOC Help Desk (EXDOC.Helpdesk@aff.gov.au) to let us know so we can validate this for you (it is a requirement that all user roles/operator profiles are validated by the Australian Competent Authority (the department).
When raising your export documentation
Exporters are required to provide the following information when raising a RFP/REX
-
Place of destination - This is compulsory for all consignments, not just those in transit across the EU.
- This field will require the Name, Address, Registration/Approval Number (if applicable) and country of the place in the EU where the consignment is being delivered for final unloading (the EXDOC system will then automatically provide the ISO country code for this field).
- If the intended destination changes after the certificate has been signed, then the importer can update this information in the Common Health Entry Document (CHED). This is the responsibility of the importer and certificates should not be replaced after departure unless requested by the border control post.
-
CN code - this was provided as the Harmonized System (HS) code previously but this will be entered in EU format as 4, 6 or 8 digit number as stipulated in Council Regulation EU 2021/632.
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Batch number – Batch number will be required for each line of product on a certificate. This number should match what is labelled on the cartons or commercial documents. The EXDOC system can accommodate up to 17 characters in the batch number field that can be a combination of numbers, letters and the symbols ( / ), ( : ) or ( - ). For fish which typically applies the processing date as the batch or lot number, the batch or lot number may be entered in the format of DD-MMM-YYYY (i.e. 29-MAY-2020).
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Final consumer - the certificate will require an indication of whether the products are packaged for final consumers so that the EU can check that the labelling complies with EU law.
- This should be “Yes” if the commodity is packaged for final consumers. This includes product packaged for retail sale i.e. a supermarket or packed in individual portions for consumer use.
- This should be “No” if the products are packed in bulk and to be separated for sale to individual consumers by the retailer.
For an eCert to be lodged successfully, valid exporter (consignor), consignee (importer), and Place of Destination TRACES IDs must be supplied. You should work closely with your importer to ensure you have the correct TRACES-NT IDs for the Consignee and the Place of Destination.
If your company is wanting to also be included as the exporter of the products on export documentation (as well as being the manufacturer/processor) you will need to create an account to log in to TRACES NT. The log on will give you the access that you need to register for or look up your TRACES NT identifier code (exporter ID) that will be needed when you raise your request for permit in EXDOC (or REX in NEXDOC). Section 6 contains more information on how to do this.
For additional information refer to: 2022-08: European Union: Fish: Paperless trade eCert commences from 31 May 2022 - DAFF (agriculture.gov.au).
2024-05: Fish and Fish Products: European Union: Changes to European Commission TRACES-NT access from 11 June 2024 - DAFF (agriculture.gov.au).
As TRACES NT is managed by the EU, if you have any further questions the department encourage you to work with your importer to clarify any EU import requirements.
If you have any questions in relation to raising export certification please contact the EXDOC Help Desk (EXDOC.Helpdesk@aff.gov.au) or the Dairy, Eggs and Fish Export Program (dairyeggsfish@aff.gov.au).
Certificate for composite foods containing processed dairy products
The only template currently available for composite products is:
- M492 (12/22) – English only. This is a manual certificate.
- Note
- This certificate is only available in a manual format as it is difficult for EXDOC to automatically incorporate information from several export programs. The manual certificate will be issued from the Department regional offices after an assessment of the composite food's ingredients has been conducted to ensure they have been sourced from EU-listed establishments. Exporters are advised that this assessment may be a lengthy process and it is strongly recommended that exporters make allowances for the time this assessment will take when preparing composite foods for export. The Department will provide exporters with instructions on how to complete this certificate on request. Some guidance is provided at
section 2 above.
If exporters are interested in having certificate template M492A made available, please contact the department at
exportstandards@aff.gov.au.