Mexico publishes final draft of Cheese Conformity Assessment Procedure
On 31 January 2022, a new update of the NOM-223 conformity assessment procedure was published by Mexican authorities. It is expected that by mid-2022, the process of evaluating foreign and national cheeses will be mandatory for all cheese sold in Mexico.
What is cheese and what is not
On January 31st 2022, Mexico published a final draft Conformity Assessment Procedure (CAP) for the NOM (Official Mexican Standard) 223-SCFI-SAGARPA-2018 for cheese. The draft was published for public consultation purposes.
In 2019 a new national quality standard for cheese (NOM-223) was published with the purpose to promote fair competition between cheese manufacturers and to ensure that all cheese sold in Mexico contain specific minimum amounts of milk as well as maximum amounts of vegetable fats, caseins and caseinates. So far, there had however not been any agreement on the so-called Conformity Assessment Procedure (CAP) to be used to ensure compliance with this standard.
Public consultation
This final draft NOM-223 cheese CAP is open for public comments for a 60 day period that began on January 31, 2022. In order to be taken into accounts, public comments must be submitted in writing to the Ministry of Economy via email to dgn.alimentaria@economia.gob.mx with a copy to jespinosa@agricultura.gob.mx and homobono.perea@agricultura.gob.mx. The procedure will enter into force six months after it is published, which will likely happen in the second half of 2022.
Dutch cheese manufacturers (interested in) exporting to Mexico are encouraged to consult the CAP through the links below and contact their Mexican importer about the implications of the new procedure.