3.103.  The State has the obligation to guarantee safe and healthy food and therefore to make food, pharmaceuticals and products in general subject to appropriate safety and quality criteria.[205] SENASAG was created within the MDRyT in 2000 to carry out this task. It is responsible for administering the Agricultural Health and Food Safety Regime.[206] The MDRyT has exclusive competence for drawing up national policies, standards and strategies to guarantee agricultural health and food safety. It does so in close cooperation with various ministries and government institutions such as the Ministry of the Environment and Water, the Ministry of Health and Sports, the ANB, and IBMETRO. A Plurinational Agricultural Health and Food Safety Committee has also been established to coordinate between the Government and representatives of the agricultural and agro-industry sectors in preparing and evaluating animal health policies. The Committee is chaired by the MDRyT and is composed of representatives of the Ministry of Health, the MDPyEP, SENASAG and the private sector.[207]

3.104.  Agricultural health and food safety are national priorities. The 2011 Agricultural Health and Food Safety Policy accordingly provides for the State to strengthen services that protect agricultural health and food safety by preventing and controlling disease, conducting epidemiological surveillance, controlling the quality of inputs and certifying products.[208]

3.105.  The Agricultural Health and Food Safety Regime is regulated by both domestic and supranational legislation (Table 3.14)

3.106.  Among other tasks, SENASAG proposes and implements the policies needed to ensure protection of plant and animal health and food safety (Table 3.15). Sanitary and phytosanitary measures include inspection, quarantine, surveillance, certification, prevention, control of pests and diseases, registration, diagnosis, laboratory analysis and dealing with sanitary and phytosanitary emergencies

3.107.  In drawing up sanitary measures, the Bolivian authorities refer to the rules of international organizations such as the OIE (animal health), the Codex (safety) and the IPPC (phytosanitary aspects). The National Codex Alimentarius Committee is an interinstitutional and multidisciplinary body responsible for adapting rules so as to protect human health and harmonize food standards.[209]

3.108.  The steps in drawing up a phytosanitary or animal health measure include the following: preparation of a draft; its publication for a period of 30 days (for phytosanitary measures) or 14 days (for animal health measures) to allow the public to make any comments; revision of the project if necessary; and adoption of the measure (Chart 3.10). Phytosanitary and animal health measures enter into force by means of a supreme decree, a ministerial resolution or a SENASAG administrative resolution, as applicable.[210] A phytosanitary or animal health measure may be revised at the request of a party and/or if the sanitary situation changes. The measures are mandatory

3.109.  In order to determine the phytosanitary or animal health requirements for importing plant or animal products or by‑products into Bolivia, the person concerned must file an application with SENASAG to import the product. On the basis of this application, a note is sent to the competent service enquiring about the phytosanitary state of the crop in the country of origin. Once this information has been obtained officially, a risk analysis to detect pests is conducted and the phytosanitary measures decided. The same procedure applies to animal health measures. In both instances, general and specific requirements by product or species are determined

3.110.  SENASAG is responsible for certifying the health-safety status of products for domestic consumption, as well as imports and exports (where necessary). Pursuant to the sanitary control system for the protection of consumers, SENASAG issues the sanitary and phytosanitary import permits prior to loading in the country of origin.[211]

3.111.  Bolivian companies producing or packaging foods may voluntarily apply the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system. Companies wishing to obtain HACCP certification must request it from SENASAG. After SENASAG has conducted an audit to check that the company is applying the system in accordance with the prescribed requirements, it issues a certificate of approval and implementation of the HACCP system.[212] Although it is not compulsory to apply the HACCP system, Bolivia has other technical regulations which must be applied in order to ensure that proper practices are followed when handling food. For example, slaughterhouses must be registered in the Sanitary Register of Slaughterhouses, which can only be done if they meet the requirements prescribed in the various technical regulations issued by SENASAG. Failure to comply with these directives leads to closure of the slaughterhouse. At present (2017), Bolivia applies technical regulations for the operation of slaughterhouses for animals for slaughter, slaughterhouses for bovine animals and slaughterhouses for poultry, and for the inspection of these slaughterhouses and the processing, storage and transport of meat

3.112.  Bolivia has submitted four notifications to the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures since 2006. One of these concerns food safety and animal health[213], while the other three concern plant protection measures.[214]