The Gray Blog

Many countries in Latin America have laws on the books requiring “registros sanitarios” or “sanitary certificates” for products which are ingested or which come in contact with the human body. Such products generally include drinks and food products but also perfumes and cosmetics. These laws are generally administered by the department of sanitation for the country. The stated purpose of the sanitary certificate is to provide a vehicle to track a product back to its source in the event of adverse reactions. A side effect is that, where these regulations are enforced, they provide an effective tool against parallel market products. In order to obtain a sanitary certificate you must be the manufacturer of the product or his authorized agent. Furthermore, you must disclose ingredient information for the products. Once the sanitary certificate is issued, only products imported by the owner of the sanitary certificate are generally allowed to circulate in the country. Although traditionally lax enforcement has rendered the sanitary certificate an unsatisfactory tool, in recent years various Latin American governments such as Venezuela and Peru have breathed new life into their respective laws. With stronger enforcement the sanitary certificate may prove an effective tool against the grey market.

No Responses to “Registros Sanitarios: a old tool against the parallel market is new again.”

No comments yet

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.