India tightens pork import rules to meet international safety standards

India is implementing stricter pork import regulations aimed at enhancing food safety and disease control. A draft certificate prepared by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying seeks to replace broad disease declarations with specific requirements aligned with the World Organisation for Animal Health’s Terrestrial Animal Health Code.

The new rules introduce defined waiting periods and separate food-safety attestations, moving toward a risk-based drafting system. While this shift may better position India under the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, it raises questions regarding whether the country applies the same rigorous standards to its own domestic production as it does to foreign exporters.