1. PURPOSE
   1. This notice informs inspection program personnel (IPP) that a new group of countries will be added in Phase Eight of the Public Health Information System (PHIS) export module rollout on March 6, 2023. Phase Eight will include the 45 countries listed in Section II below. This notice also provides additional instructions to IPP for the enhanced digital signature that will be used for all meat, including Siluriformes, and poultry exports (excluding casings and egg products) to these countries. Instructions for ordering the seven-digit export stamps remain the same for Phase Eight.
   2. This notice provides instructions to IPP when reviewing country-required statements generated by the PHIS statements module for the countries that will be added to PHIS on March 6, 2023. The PHIS statements module will replace the current use of letterhead certificates for meat and poultry exports that are processed in PHIS. Export applicants will no longer complete or attach any letterhead certificates to export applications for these countries on or after March 6, 2023. The PHIS statements module will also be used to generate other statements that are not part of a letterhead certificate but are required as indicated in the FSIS Export Library.
   3. Additionally, the export applicant, exporter, or representative with PHIS access will print a copy of a plain paper approved export certificate from the Create/View 9060-6 Export Applications (9060) grid in PHIS. This notice also provides instructions for using standard white copy paper (8.5" x 11") when IPP print a copy of an approved export certificate for exports to any of the new countries added to PHIS on March 6, 2023.
2. BACKGROUND
   1. FSIS has implemented seven prior phases of the PHIS export module. The complete list of all countries active in the PHIS export module is available in the export section of the PHIS Components page of the FSIS website.
   2. Phase Eight: Albania; Antigua and Barbuda; Armenia; Bahrain; Bonaire; Colombia; Congo, Republic of (Brazzaville); Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; Egypt; Fiji; Ghana; Guatemala; Haiti; India; Indonesia; Jamaica; Jordan; Kenya; Kiribati; Kuwait; Kyrgyzstan; Lebanon; Malaysia; Mauritius; Moldova; Namibia; Nicaragua; Oman; Pakistan; Paraguay; Saba; Seychelles; Senegal; Sint Maarten; Solomon Islands; St. Eustatius; St. Lucia; Sudan; Suriname; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Trinidad and Tobago; and Uruguay will be added to the PHIS export module on March 6, 2023.
   3. After IPP review and approve the certificate package, PHIS will automatically apply the enhanced digital signature to all pages and upload a digital PDF of the signed export documents into the export task, which IPP are to ensure is completed, saved, and closed in PHIS as explained in Section V.
   4. IPP are to print the approved export certificates on standard white copy paper (8.5" x 11") from the View Export Records (9060) grid, but only for establishments that do not have functional printers or PHIS access, as indicated in Section VI below. All other establishments will print the approved export certificates on standard white copy paper (8.5" x 11") from the Create/View 9060-6 Export Applications (9060) grid in PHIS, as indicated in Section III below. IPP are not to print from PHIS on FSIS security paper (item number ECP-11) except for countries that require it as documented in the FSIS Export Library.
3. AWARENESS MEETING WITH ESTABLISHMENT MANAGEMENT
   1. Immediately upon receipt of this notice, the inspector-in-charge (IIC) is to have a meeting with establishment management. During the meeting, the IIC is to inform establishment management that beginning March 6, 2023:
      1. A new group of countries will be added to the PHIS export module;
      2. All meat and poultry export applications (excluding egg products and casings) for these countries are to be processed in PHIS;
      3. All meat and poultry export certificates issued for these countries are to be generated through PHIS, contain the FSIS approving official's digital signature, and only be printed on standard white copy paper (8.5" x 11");
      4. These countries require a paper copy of all approved export certificates. The export applicant, exporter, or representative with PHIS access will print a copy of a plain paper approved export certificate from the Create/View 9060-6 Export Applications (9060) grid in PHIS;
      5. A copy of an approved export certificate will not be available for printing unless the status in the 9060 grid says "Approved;"
      6. Approved export certificates printed from the 9060 grid will contain a watermark, "Approved Certificate - Available for Validation in PHIS;"
      7. FSIS will no longer sign and issue letterhead certificates for meat and poultry exports to these countries. Instead, all required statements will be included in the PHIS statements module. The statements will be selected by the export applicant when completing the export application in PHIS. PHIS will include the selected statements on FSIS Form 9060-5B;
      8. IPP are to be aware that any meat or poultry shipments to any of the Phase Eight countries that are not certified outside of PHIS before March 6, 2023 must be certified through PHIS beginning on March 6, 2023. Export applicants who have submitted applications for 9060-5 series certificates prior to March 6, 2023 and have not received a signed export certificate for those shipments before March 6th, must submit a new original (not replacement) application in PHIS in order to receive a digitally signed 9060-5 export certificate.
      9. If not already known, IPP are to request the name of the establishment individual who serves as the Establishment Administrator, in addition to a current email address. IPP are to enter the Establishment Administrator into the Contacts page of the Establishment Profile as outlined in FSIS Directive 5300.1, Managing the Establishment Profile in The Public Health Information System; and
      10. The PHIS Components page of the FSIS website provides additional information for exporters on gaining access to PHIS, as well as additional information regarding use of the PHIS export module.
4. IPP RESPONSIBILITIES
   1. IPP are not to accept or process paper export applications and are not to issue non-PHIS paper export certificates for meat or poultry exports to the Phase Eight countries beginning on March 6, 2023. All export applications (FSIS Form 9060-6) for meat and poultry exports to these countries are to be processed through PHIS with the resulting approved export certificate (FSIS Form 9060-5 or 9060-5S) and any continuation pages (FSIS Form 9060-5A and/or 9060-5B) printed on standard white copy paper (8.5" x 11") by the establishments from the 9060 grid.
   2. IPP are to print the approved export certificates only for establishments that do not have a functional printer or do not have PHIS access using the instructions in Section VI below. IPP are to access and print approved plain paper export certificate copies only from the View Export Records (9060) grid so the watermark, "Approved Certificate - Available for Validation in PHIS," is applied.
   3. Printing from any location in PHIS other than the View Export Records (9060) grid is not permitted when the certificate is digitally signed and printed on plain paper, as the required watermark will not be applied to the printed certificate.
   4. For all meat and poultry exports to the new group of countries, PHIS will automatically generate and complete an export certificate and any continuation pages based on the data entered by the export applicant during the application process, as verified by IPP when reviewing the certificate package in PHIS.
5. ENHANCED DIGITAL SIGNATURE
   1. FSIS implemented an enhanced digital signature on July 9, 2021, for all countries active in the PHIS export module that utilize a digital signature. With the enhanced digital signature process, IPP no longer manually apply a digital signature or manually upload any signed export documents.
   2. The instructions in this section of the notice cancel and replace previous instructions for applying the digital signature in Section D.I of Chapter V and Attachments A and B of, FSIS Directive 13,000.5, Public Health Information System Export Certification.
   3. Before approving the export application and applying the enhanced digital signature, IPP are to click the "Review Certificate Package" button on the "Approvals" tab of the export task. Clicking this button opens a separate window with the export document(s), which IPP are to review for accuracy and alignment with requirements in the FSIS Export Library prior to approval. After reviewing the export document(s), IPP are to close the window with the export documents without saving or printing.
      
      NOTE: The "Approve and Sign" button is greyed out and not accessible until IPP click the "Review Certificate Package" button. If IPP close out their current PHIS session after clicking the "Review Certificate Package" button and before clicking the "Approve and Sign" button, they will need to click the "Review Certificate Package" button again before they are able to access and click the "Approve and Sign" button.
   4. Once the FSIS certifying official (the Consumer Safety Inspector (CSI) when a veterinary signature is not required or Public Health Veterinarian (PHV) when a veterinary signature is required, as indicated in the FSIS Export Library) has reviewed the export document(s) and is ready to approve and digitally sign the export certificate in PHIS, they are to click the "Approve and Sign" button on the "Approvals" tab of the export task. Clicking this button will automatically apply the enhanced digital signature to all pages and upload a PDF of the digitally signed export documents into the export task.
   5. Upon clicking the "Approve and Sign" button for approval by the FSIS certifying official, the approved digitally signed PDF document(s) will appear in the "Attachments" grid below the "Review Certificate Package" and "Approve and Sign" buttons. These signed PDF export document(s) will have a file name of the export certificate number (e.g., 1234567.pdf) and will be titled as "Signed Document."
   6. After approving the export certificate, IPP are to check the "Inspection Completed" box and save and close the export task. If the IPP do not check this box and click the close button, the signed PDF official certificate will not appear in the 9060 grid and the status will remain "Pending Upload". An official digitally signed export certificate with the required watermark "Approved Certificate - Available for Validation in PHIS" will not be available in PHIS if this step is not completed.
   7. The official copy of the approved and digitally signed export certificate is digitally stored in PHIS and available for verification by foreign government officials via the Certificate Signature View (CSV) role in PHIS. IPP do not need to print a copy of the certificate for recordkeeping purposes.
6. PRINTING A DIGITALLY SIGNED, APPROVED PLAIN PAPER EXPORT CERTIFICATE COPY FROM THE VIEW EXPORT RECORDS (9060) GRID
   1. IPP are to only print approved export certificates when the export applicant, exporter, or representative does not have a functional printer or does not have PHIS access. When IPP print a plain paper copy of an approved export certificate that contains the required watermark "Approved Certificate - Available for Validation in PHIS", IPP are to only access the View Export Records (9060) grid using the following steps to print one copy of the digitally signed approved export certificate on standard white copy paper (8.5" x 11"):
      1. From the PHIS home page, click the "Export" tab in the left vertical menu;
      2. Under Export, click on "9060" and the View Export Records (9060) grid opens;
      3. Locate the approved export certificate you want to print using the various search parameters at the top of the grid or by scrolling through the pages of the grid;
      4. Under the PDF column on the right side of the grid, click on the PDF of the approved export certificate you want to print;
      5. A separate window opens a PDF of the approved export certificate with the FSIS approving
      6. official's digital signature and the watermark "Approved Certificate - Available for Validation in PHIS;"
      7. Print one copy of the export certificate using standard white copy paper (8.5" x 11");
      8. Confirm that the plain paper copy has the necessary watermark with the statement, "Approved Certificate - Available for Validation in PHIS", as the plain paper copy lacking a watermark is not an approved copy; and
      9. Close the PDF without saving a copy, as the digitally signed PDF certificate is already recorded in PHIS.
7. PHIS STATEMENTS MODULE
   1. IPP are to be aware that letterhead certificates are not to be used by the export applicant, and IPP are not to sign and issue letterhead certificates for meat and poultry export shipments to the Phase Eight countries beginning on March 6, 2023. Instead, the country-required statements from the letterhead certificates or other required statements from the FSIS Export Library will be added via the statements module within PHIS to the digital FSIS Form 9060-5B.
   2. IPP are to be aware that PHIS will have all country-required statements pre-programmed into the system. The export applicant will select the appropriate statement(s) based on the product(s) listed on the export application and the guidance provided in the FSIS Export Library.
   3. IPP are to be aware that PHIS will display all statements selected by the export applicant on FSIS Form 9060-5B. In situations where multiple products are included on an export application and multiple sets of statements are required by the importing country, IPP are to be aware that the export applicant will need to select each set of required statements. For example, if an export shipment includes poultry and beef, and there are poultry and beef statements that are required in the FSIS Export Library the export applicant will select the statement(s) for poultry and the statement(s) for beef.
   4. IPP are to be aware that export applicants are not able to edit or alter the content of any of the selected statements, except when required to enter data, such as an ineligible U.S. state, cooking time, cooking temperature, or other information that may vary depending on the importing country's requirements for a particular product. The statements used in the PHIS statements module are the exact statements from the current letterhead certificates or other statements as required in the FSIS Export Library. IPP are to verify the correct country-required statements are included on the export certificate based on the requirements listed in the FSIS Export Library and the products listed for export on the export certificate.
   5. IPP are to be aware that export applicants can unlock the export application and change which statements they select or deselect at any point prior to the application's final approval by the FSIS certifying official. If IPP observe missing country-required statements or incorrect statements that have been added by the export applicant, IPP are not to immediately reject the application. Instead, IPP are to inform the export applicant that they need to correct the required statements and re-submit the export application after correction. After correction and re-submission of the export application by the export applicant, IPP are to continue their application review and approval process in PHIS, including verification of any statements selected by the exporter applicant to ensure alignment with requirements in the FSIS Export Library.
   6. The FSIS Export Library for the Phase Eight countries will be updated prior to March 6, 2023 and will reflect the transition from using letterhead certificates to using country-required statements via the PHIS statements module. Links to any existing letterhead certificates will remain in the FSIS Export Library until these countries are added to the PHIS export module on March 6, 2023. On March 6, 2023, the FSIS Export Library for these countries will be updated to remove letterhead certificate links and will reflect the required statements to be used by the export applicant via the PHIS statements module.
8. SEVEN-DIGIT EXPORT STAMP
   For all exports processed through PHIS, the system will automatically generate a seven-digit (numbers only) export certificate number upon creation of the export application by the export applicant. This seven- digit export certificate number will be used as the USDA export stamp number to mark the products for export. IPP certifying exports to the Phase Eight countries can order a seven-digit export stamp if they do not already have one. This is an accountable item and is to be securely handled in the same fashion as the six-digit export stamp.
9. ACCOUNTABLE SUPPLIES
   The seven-digit export stamp (item number FSIS-03-7) is available from the Materiel Management Service Center (MMSC). IPP are to use the following link for ordering instructions: www.bsc.usda.gov. IPP are to send their orders via email to cfpdc@usda.gov.
10. QUESTIONS
    Refer questions regarding this notice or any other export questions to your supervisor or as needed to the Office of Policy and Program Development through askFSIS or by telephone at 1-855-444-9904. When submitting a question, complete the web form and select Export for the inquiry type.

NOTE: Refer to FSIS Directive 5620.1, Using askFSIS, for additional information on submitting questions.