Which food products require a Health Registration in Guatemala?
Maybe you are selling jams, bread, or roasted coffee. Do you know if your product must have a Health Registry?
This blog post focuses on food produced in Guatemala. The answer is that food must have a Health Registry.
In Guatemala, the Government Office that oversees on this topic is the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud y Asistencia Social, MSPAS) through the Department of Control of Food Products (Departamento de Control de Alimentos, DRCA).
There is a regulation that applies to Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Costa Rica, which is called the Central American Technical Rulling (Reglamento Técnico Centroamericano, RTCA 67.01.31.07). The advantage of this RTCA is that if you successfully register your product in Guatemala, you can then request a Free Sale Certificate and with it export to the other countries that are part of the agreement.
The RTCA defines a food product as “any processed, semi-processed and unprocessed substance, which is intended for human ingestion, including beverages, chewing gum and any other substances that are used in the elaboration, preparation or treatment of the same, but it does not include cosmetics, tobacco or products that are used as medicines”.
A difference is made in three food categories:
Unprocessed food: a product that has not undergone modifications of physical, chemical or biological origin, except those indicated for hygienic reasons or for the separation of inedible parts. For example, an apple, vegetables, eggs, bakery products for daily consumption that do not have a container.
Processed food, which has been subjected to an adequate technological process for its conservation. For example: a jam.
Semi-processed food, which has been subjected to an adequate technological process for its conservation and that requires treatment prior to its subsequent consumption. For example: cheese, yogurt, honey, dairy products, etc.
Besides, the Technical Rulling, NT 003-2020, classifies processed foods as high, medium, and low risk.
Examples of high-risk processed food, among others:
- Pasteurized milk
- Sweet cream, whipped cream
- Butter
- Milk or water-based ice creams
- Peanut butter
- Packaged meat products
- Refrigerated or frozen ready meals, for example lasagna, casseroles, pizzas, tamales, or pupusas,
Therefore, if you are producing any of the products on this list, or one that falls within the definitions of processed products, then you must request a Health Registration to be able to market your product in Guatemala.
If you have a question about your product category, you can request an appointment by email at: regulatory.affairs@scheelconsulting.com or contact us via WhastApp T.+502 4149 3915.
