Meat Inspection Expert - Review Regulation Legal Framework

Job Description

Position: Review the Dominican Republic animal slaughter and meat processing regulation

Reports To: Director of SPS and Cold Chain

Period of Performance : from February 22 to March 31, 2022

Level of Effort : 27 days

Travel : N/A

About the International Executive Service Corps (IESC) & TraSa Project

IESC is a leading U.S. nonprofit organization that fosters private sector development in the economically developing world. Since 1964, we have delivered lasting solutions that have resulted in more than 1.5 million jobs in 137 countries. We partner with businesses, cooperatives, entrepreneurs, jobseekers, and governments to sustainably build capacity, create jobs, and grow enterprises, sharing proven skills and experience that improve the lives of individuals, families, and communities around the world. Our major funders today are the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), among others.

IESC is the prime implementor of the USDA-funded Trade Safe (TraSa) Program in the Dominican Republic (DR). TraSa aims to build the capacity of Dominican government institutions to develop a modernized Sanitary/Phytosanitary (SPS) and food safety related policy and regulatory framework to respond to the needs of the DR’s trade agreements and international best practices, as well as Dominican consumers. TraSa is helping government institutions to implement science- and risk-based SPS and food safety measures, standards, and regulations to facilitate trade in food and agricultural products. The project is also providing training and technical assistance to private laboratories to obtain international certifications for high-demand SPS tests. The project period of implementation is October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2025. 

Background

The DR’s national meat inspection system is administered by the General Directorate of Medicine, Food and Health Products (DIGEMAPS), which is a part of the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH). Issued in 2011, Reglamento 329-11 provides regulations and rules for sanitary inspection of meat and meat products in the DR. This regulation includes inspection of cattle, swine, and ready to eat products or processed products, but not poultry or eggs.

This regulation is now considered outdated and impractical to smaller producers. Although it established food safety standards in the meat industry and indicates how establishments must comply with these standards, it is difficult to comply with as small processing plants are unable to comply certain measures in the same way that a large industrial slaughterhouse would. Ideally, legislation should establish what establishments must comply with to ensure safety and allow each establishment to choose how to do it according to its capacity and resources. Taking this into account, the MoPH understands the need to update this regulation.

With the assistance of international consultants, a new regulation has been drafted that includes all meat products and other products of animal origin for human consumption, (which now includes poultry and poultry products). The proposed regulation complies with international food safety standards and establishes a food safety system in which the industry implements its procedures, and the government assumes the role of inspection, verification, and supervision. This proposal will regulate the performance of all establishments dedicated to the slaughter, processing, transformation, and storage of products and by-products of swine, poultry, cattle, ovine, caprine, aquaculture products, eggs and egg products, and ready to eat products to ensure the safety of food for national consumption or export.

Justification

The DR is currently requesting reinstatement to export to the U.S. raw (fresh and frozen) intact beef, which needs to be approved and provided by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). To achieve that, the Dominican meat inspection system has been updated and modified to meet FSIS standards, which is a high international standard.

This draft regulation needs to be reviewed by a consultant or team of consultants to make sure that it provides an appropriate legal framework to not only achieve and maintain the equivalence of DR national food safety system for beef, but also establishes the same high standards for swine, poultry, and other animal products that are not regulated. Doing so would protect national consumers.

Objectives

• To perform a thorough review of the draft regulation to make sure that it provides a legal framework equivalent to the U.S. for export beef to the United States and sets a high standard for DR national food safety system for swine and poultry for local consumption, and other animal origin products.
• Propose edits to ensure the regulation is both compliant with international standards and practical in the local context by producers large and small.

Principal tasks

1. If needed, translate the regulation into English to be reviewed;
2. Review the regulation;
3. Provide feedback in the document(s) through comments and changes using track changes;
4. Have 3 virtual meetings with DIGEMAPS and TraSa to discuss the comments and proposed changes;
5. Prepare a final draft that incorporates all comments and changes as discussed,
6. Translate the final draft into Spanish (if needed),
7. Submit the final draft to TraSa.

DIGEMAPS will present the final draft to the industry and other government institutions. Any comments derived from this discussion will be incorporated by DIGEMAPS to the document if they are considered relevant.

Deliverables

1. A first draft of the regulation in Spanish which contains the consultant(s’)’s comments and proposed track changes in Word format. Due on/about March 7, 2022.
2. A separate brief on recommendations which lists each section of the draft regulation and the consultant(s’)’s findings and comments, in template provided by IESC. Due on/about March 7, 2022.
3. A final draft of the regulation in Spanish, in Word format. Due on/about March 23, 2022.

Qualifications

1. Comprehensive knowledge of food safety regulations related to the slaughter, processing, transformation and storage of products and by-products of swine, cattle, ovine, caprine, poultry, eggs and processed products;
2. Comprehensive knowledge of the development of official procedures, national programs, statistical sampling, tolerance levels for veterinary drugs and chemical residues and other official documents required for the proper functioning of a national meat inspection system;
3. Comprehensive knowledge of the required chemical residue analysis, microbiological analysis and other analyzes as required in meat products, poultry, eggs and egg products and aquaculture,
4. Proven experience working on food safety inspection for meat and meat products and other animal products (eggs, egg products, aquaculture products),
5. Excellent writing skills,
6. Previous experience working with the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) is preferable, and,
7. Previous knowledge of the DR regulation for meat and animal products is preferable,
8. Previous knowledge of the DR meat inspections system is preferable,
9. Ability to communicate effectively in Spanish and work without the assistance of translators/translations preferred.

About the Organization

The International Executive Service Corps is a Washington, DC based not-for-profit that focuses on private sector growth. We support and catalyze the development of private enterprises, business support organizations, financial institutions, and public institutions around the world. Utilizing skilled consultants and expert volunteers, we’ve implemented over 25,000 short-term projects and 200 programs in 130 countries. True to our mission — Promoting Prosperity and Stability through Private Enterprise — we’re proud to have created over one million jobs across the globe