[Visual: The title "Exporting Journey of an Animal Product" is displayed. A person in a kitchen starts talking.]

Kia ora. Understanding the whole journey of an animal product is important. Whether you're exporting meat, honey, dairy, or any other animal product like turtle milk.

[Visual: A truck is shown in a field in front of a building.]

Each step helps you to get your product to your customers. Once the turtle milk has been collected, it's transported to the processing factory where it gets treated and packaged.

[Visual: A person is shown packing bottles of turtle milk into a carton.]

Each factory that processes the turtle milk makes an eligibility declaration, otherwise known as an ED. This accompanies the product on the next steps of its journey and guarantees that it's met quality and safety standards at each step.

[Visual: A person is verifying the bottles against a list that he holds.]

When it's been processed, the turtle milk is sent to a storage facility before being shipped.

[Visual: Containers of turtle milk arrive at a storage facility.]

Now that the turtle milk is processed, packaged, and ready for shipping, exporters need to raise an export certificate. Animal exporters need this certificate for markets, requiring official government to government assurance.

[Visual: The turtle milk container from the truck is being loaded onto the cargo ship.]

With an MPI approved export certificate the turtle milk is ready to leave New Zealand.

It's sent to an air or sea port, then shipped to its destination country.

[Visual: A world map. Dotted lines connect New Zealand to its neighbouring countries.]

If the export certificate isn't approved before departure, the turtle milk could be temporarily held at the destination port, or refused entry at the destination country. But all going well, the turtle milk will arrive safely in your customer's hands.

[Visual: A customer in the dairy aisle of the store examines the turtle milk.]

Getting it right is great for you and your business. But it's also an important part of supporting New Zealand and its exports.

[Visual: Visit mpi.govt.nz/exporting or email exporterhelp@mpi.govt.nz

New Zealand Food Safety, Ministry of Primary Industries, Manatu Ahu Matua.]

[Visual: The title "Exporting Journey of an Animal Product, A Closer Look at Certification" is displayed.]

After watching the video of the exporting journey, you understand a bit more about what animal products that require official assurance need to go through to get to the customer.

Now we'll look at the certification process in more detail, and your part in making sure it runs smoothly.

A lot of factors in documents help ensure an animal product is safe and suitable when it reaches the customer.

Take turtle milk for example. After leaving the farm, the turtle milk is processed.

[Visual: A bottle-filling machine with an operator.]

During its processing journey, the turtle milk can go to different premises at different locations. Every location has a separate risk management programme, also known as RMP. The RMP is a written programme designed to manage the hazards, wholesomeness, and labelling of animal material.

[Visual: A Risk Management Programme checklist. The list has 4 check boxes - safe, suitable, truthful labelling, and meets New Zealand food safety requirements.]

This ensures the turtle milk is fit for purpose, safe, suitable, and has truthful labelling. Every time the turtle milk moves from one RMP premises to another for processing, it needs a new eligibility declaration or ED.

EDs are electronic transfer documents that are raised to track the process the product goes through. They need to accurately capture all the information required to guarantee their quality and safety standards, and market requirements have been met at each step of the journey.

[Visual - A laptop showing an eligibility declaration. The required details of turtle milk are entered into the fields of the ED, then a stamp reading "MPI Verified" appears.]

The required information as in the Overseas Market Access Requirements or OMARs.

Once the turtle milk is fully processed, it's moved into storage and the final ED is created.

[Visual: A container carrying the fully processed turtle milk reaches the storage place. A laptop with the final ED document appears.]

The final ED compiles all the information from the previous EDs, including additional information, test results, and classification for the turtle milk to be eligible in the intended market. Once the final ED is verified, the exporter can use it to raise an export certificate in the AP E-cert system.

The AP E-cert system is an electronic certification system that tracks processing and movement of products. It's here that exporters will document that their product meets manufacturing and market requirements. When exporters raise the certificate, they need to read the relevant OMAR to check if official assurance is required.

The OMAR tells exporters the requirements they need to meet for the destination market and specific requirements for their product, in this case, turtle milk.

The OMAR also provides the exporter with the template number they'll need to use in the AP E-cert system. Once the export certificate has been submitted, it's checked by an MPI certifier.

[Visual: An MPI certifier checks the export certificate.]

They either approve the submission or return it for resubmission. Having to resubmit an export certificate due to missing or incorrect information will cost the exporter time and money. However, if the export certificate is approved, the product will successfully arrive at the destination market. This shows the destination country's competent authority that the product has met their official assurance requirements.

[Visual: A ship with large containers arrives at a port.]

If the turtle milk arrives without an accepted export certificate to accompany it, or the export certificate isn't approved by the competent authority in the destination country, the milk might not be allowed into the market. It could sit at the destination port until an approved eligible export certificate arrives. In this case, the exporter needs to contact MPI within 24 hours.

[Visual: The exporter talks to MPI on his phone.]

Issues not only affect the exporter, but the industry as well. If something goes wrong with the turtle milk, this can impact the turtle milk industryand bring their quality standards into question. In turn this can impact New Zealand's relationship with the destination country.

Delays, rework, and errors can cost time and money, damage industry reputations, or cost New Zealand an exporting relationship. Every step of the turtle milk journey determines if the milk can be collected by importers and made available for customers.

To make sure the turtle milk reaches customers' hands at the end of the process, each step needs to be followed and all the documentation needs to be accurate, completed at the right time, and approved.Because at the end of the day exporting correctly means your products such as turtle milk is at its highest quality when it gets to your customers.

[Visual: Visit mpi.govt.nz/exporting or mail exporterhelp@mpi.govt.nz

New Zealand Food Safety, Ministry of Primary Industries, Manatu Ahu Matua.]

Guidance and resources