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Morocco notified G/SPS/N/MAR/89 on October 27, 2022. The notification concerns Morocco’s list and limits of food additives authorized for use in primary products and food products, as well as the information to be displayed on their packaging. Comments are due no later than December 25, 2022. An unofficial translation is included in this report.

On March 30, 2022, Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) released guidelines, which provides examples of an improper use of “No Food Additive Used”. The present report contains a provisional translation of the guidelines.

Effective February 1, 2023, Hong Kong will ban cannabidiol (CBD) products. The newly amended regulation will prohibit the manufacture, import, export, supply, sale, possession and transshipment of any products containing CBD in the city, regardless of quantity.

The Dominican Republic (DR) continues to ban and/or restrict U.S. poultry exports from states with any type of detection of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), regardless of the outbreak being reported as poultry or non-poultry.

This report serves as a reminder to U.S. exporters and traders that the Hong Kong government does not allow entry of U.S. poultry and egg products originating from affected counties reporting highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) when the bill of lading falls on or after the effective date of a ban.

Morocco notified G/SPS/N/MAR/87 on October 17, 2022. The notification concerns Morocco’s maximum limits of contaminants in food and food products. Comments are due no later than December 16, 2022. Note that the Government of Morocco approved the Joint Order and published it in the Official Bulletin #7136 on October 20, 2022. An unofficial translation is included in this report.

Saudi Arabia was a 24th largest market ($1.34 million) for U.S. food and agricultural products last year. A return to pre-Covid living and working conditions are invigorating U.S. agricultural exports to the Kingdom in 2022. U.S. Customs data for January – August 2022 shows an 11 percent increase in U.S. agricultural exports to Saudi Arabia compared to the same period in 2021.

On October 27, 2022, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare/Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued a new order pertaining to FSSAI Order F. No. 1829/Health Certificate/ FSSAI/Imports (2021), which extends the effective compliance date. The new effective compliance date is now set for January 1, 2023 (the previous effective compliance date was November 1, 2022).

On October 20, 2022, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued a clarification on certain provisions to the 2018 Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulation.

On October 11, 2022, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare/Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) published notification No. Std/EC/T(NSF-01) in the Gazette of India: Extraordinary (official gazette). The notification was subsequently published on the FSSAI website on October 14, 2022.

On October 18, 2022, India's Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC)/Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) recommended the environmental release of the locally developed genetically engineered (GE) mustard parental lines bn 3.6 carrying barnase and bar genes, and modbs 2.99 containing barstar and bar genes for the events to be used for developing new parental lines and hybrids, and GE mustard hybrid DMH-11 with these events for seed production.

On October 21, 2022, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare/Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued Direction No. TIC-C-503(T)/1/2022-IMPORTS-FSSAI. The FSSAI direction (guidelines) pertains to FORM-2, Section C as referred to in sub-regulation 10(5) of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) (Import) Regulations (2017).