APEDA and meat export from India: a practical guide
What APEDA registration means, which products it covers, and how it connects to the health certificate.
APEDA — the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority — is the Indian government body that registers processing and slaughter facilities for export. A plant must be APEDA-registered to produce meat for international shipment. The registration number appears on the health certificate.
Mutton, buffalo and poultry are covered. Beef from cattle is not exportable from India and is therefore outside APEDA's meat export scope. When a buyer asks for 'Indian beef', the honest answer is that it does not exist as an export category. Buffalo is a separate species and a separate product.
The health certificate is issued by FSSAI (the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) or the state veterinary authority depending on the product. It accompanies every consignment. The certificate number links the lot to the registered plant.
For buyers, the implication is simple: ask for the APEDA registration of the plant and match it to the health certificate. If the numbers do not correspond, the document set has a problem. We supply the registration details as part of every shipment package.
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