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Selling pet food in Brazil

In Brazil, pet food is animal feed, regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA) under Law 6.198/1974 and Decree 12.031/2024. Establishments that make, import or sell it are registered with MAPA, each product is registered, cadastrado or exempt, and labels in Portuguese follow the Decree and IN 30/2009.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Regulator
MAPA (Ministério da Agricultura e Pecuária)
Main rules
Decree 12.031/2024; IN 30/2009 for pet food
Establishments
Registered with MAPA, through SipeAgro
Products
Registered, cadastrado or exempt; valid 10 years
Label language
Portuguese (Decree 12.031/2024, Article 60)
Recalls
MAPA publishes recall orders

Before a product goes on sale

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Is the establishment registered with MAPA? Read more
  2. 2Is the product registered, cadastrado or exempt? Read more
  3. 3What must the label show, and which guarantee levels? Read more
  4. 4Are the raw materials and additives permitted? Read more
  5. 5How does a foreign product and its maker get into Brazil? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

Establishment registration

Who must be registered with MAPA to handle and sell pet food.

  • Only persons and companies registered with MAPA may receive, handle, split, prepare, pack, store and sell animal feed products to another establishment (Decree 12.031/2024, Article 12).
  • Establishments that make, split, import, export or sell pet food are registered with MAPA, through the SipeAgro system, and report production monthly (MAPA animal feed page).
  • Foreign manufacturers are registered in a simplified form (Article 12).
  • MAPA publishes lists of registered establishments and products (MAPA registration page).

How we help: Compliant Always keeps your and your suppliers' MAPA establishment registrations on record, dated, and shows which are missing. Ask about this

Product registration and ingredients

Whether a pet food is registered, cadastrado or exempt, and what may go into it.

  • Each product is registered, cadastrado or exempt (Decree 12.031/2024, Article 49); a registration or cadastro is valid for 10 years and granted per manufacturing establishment.
  • Complete foods, specific foods and chews for pets made in Brazil are exempt from registration; additives, adjuvant foods, supplements and products for horses are not (IN 30/2009, Article 5).
  • An imported product analogous to an exempt national product is cadastrado (Article 49 §1); a cadastro needs no prior assessment by MAPA (Article 50).
  • For an exempt national product, the manufacturer's technical lead signs off the formula, label and packaging before production, under its self-control programmes (Article 49 §5).
  • MAPA publishes the list of permitted raw materials (Portaria 359/2021 and IN 110/2020) and a list of prohibited additives (MAPA registration page).

How we help: Compliant Always records each product's status, registration or cadastro number and expiry, and reads your formula against the permitted lists. Ask about this

Labelling

What a pet food label must show, and what it may not claim.

  • Labels show, clearly and legibly: the name; category and basic composition; guarantee levels; use and species; directions; net content; storage; manufacturer's name and address; the manufacturer's CNPJ; the importer's name, address and CNPJ for imports; precautions; the registration status phrase; lot; expiry; use after opening; and the establishment's official stamp (Decree 12.031/2024, Article 64).
  • The status phrase reads "Produto Isento de Registro no Ministério da Agricultura e Pecuária", "Produto Registrado…sob o nº" or "Produto Cadastrado…sob o nº", as the case may be.
  • Information is in Portuguese (IN 30/2009, Article 10), and imported packs carry a Portuguese label (Decree 12.031/2024, Article 60).
  • Where by-products or flavourings are used, a picture is accompanied by "IMAGEM MERAMENTE ILUSTRATIVA" (illustrative image only) (IN 30/2009, Article 10).
  • Minimum guarantee levels include maximum moisture, minimum crude protein, minimum ether extract, maximum fibre, maximum mineral matter, minimum and maximum calcium and minimum phosphorus (Article 13).
  • Labels may not mislead, may not claim medicinal or therapeutic properties, and may make nutritional or functional claims only when proven (Decree 12.031/2024, Article 65).

How we help: Compliant Always reads your label against the Article 64 particulars and the IN 30 minimum declarations, and shows what is missing. Ask about this

Import

How foreign pet food and its manufacturer are put on record with MAPA.

  • Foreign establishments are registered, foreign products are registered or cadastrados, and imports go through import licensing (MAPA import page).
  • A foreign product's application includes the official registration document from the country of origin or a free-sale certificate, translated into Portuguese and apostilled (Decree 12.031/2024, Article 51).

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the foreign registration, free-sale certificate and translations with the product, and shows what expires. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
ManufacturerEstablishment registration, product status, formula and label.Registrations, formulas and labels kept with each product and lot.
ImporterRegistration, the foreign product's registration or cadastro, and the Portuguese label.Foreign certificates and translations read and dated before the goods arrive.
Distributor or retailerRegistration where it handles or sells to other establishments (Article 12).Questionnaires answered from the record of each product.

States and municipalities

Under the Consumer Defence Code, the federal government, the states and the Federal District make concurrent rules on production, distribution and consumption, and together with the municipalities they oversee and control production, distribution and advertising (Article 55).

Health surveillance is shared: state, Federal District and municipal health authorities license food establishments and receive the communication of start of manufacture for many foods, and INMETRO's delegated state bodies (IPEMs) inspect regulated and pre-packaged products on the market.

Questions businesses ask

Who regulates pet food in Brazil?
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA), under Law 6.198/1974 and Decree 12.031/2024. Pet food is treated as animal feed.
Does a pet food business need MAPA registration?
Yes. Establishments that make, split, import, export or sell pet food are registered with MAPA, through SipeAgro (Decree 12.031/2024, Article 12).
Does pet food need product registration in Brazil?
Complete foods, specific foods and chews for pets made in Brazil are exempt; additives, supplements and adjuvant foods are not (IN 30/2009, Article 5). Imports analogous to exempt products are cadastrados.
How long is a pet food registration valid?
Ten years, granted per manufacturing establishment (Decree 12.031/2024, Article 49 §4).
What must a pet food label show in Brazil?
Name, category and composition, guarantee levels, species and use, directions, net content, storage, manufacturer and CNPJ, importer, precautions, registration status, lot, expiry and the establishment stamp (Decree 12.031/2024, Article 64).
Do pet food labels have to be in Portuguese?
Yes. IN 30/2009 requires information in Portuguese (Article 10), and imported packs carry a Portuguese label (Decree 12.031/2024, Article 60).
What guarantee levels go on a dog or cat food label?
Maximum moisture, minimum crude protein, minimum ether extract, maximum fibre, maximum mineral matter, minimum and maximum calcium and minimum phosphorus (IN 30/2009, Article 13).
Can pet food make health claims in Brazil?
Not medicinal or therapeutic ones. Nutritional or functional claims may be made only when proven (Decree 12.031/2024, Article 65).
What does importing pet food into Brazil involve?
Registering the foreign establishment, registering or cadastrando the product with an apostilled, translated certificate from the country of origin, and import licensing (Decree 12.031/2024, Article 51; MAPA import page).
When must a pet food label say "IMAGEM MERAMENTE ILUSTRATIVA"?
When by-products or flavourings are used and the label shows an image (IN 30/2009, Article 10).
How does Compliant Always help with selling in Brazil?
Our team reads the rules for the markets you sell in. Compliant Always shows which apply to your product, keeps the documents behind each one ready, and watches the sources for changes. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

Name the product and the markets you sell in. We will come back to you with what applies in Brazil and what your paperwork needs to show.

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