I. PURPOSE

1. This notice lists the 14 countries and territories included in Phase Five of the Public Health Information System (PHIS) export module rollout that will begin on August 30, 2021.  This notice also provides additional instructions to inspection program personnel (IPP) for the enhanced digital signature that was implemented on July 9, 2021, for all countries and territories included in the PHIS export module that accept digital signatures.  In addition, this notice also provides the same instructions issued previously for the first four phases for the ordering and use of FSIS security paper and seven-digit export stamps for exports processed through the PHIS export module.  Instructions for security paper and export stamps remain the same for Phase Five.
2. This notice provides instructions to IPP when reviewing country-required statements generated by the PHIS statements module for the Phase Five countries that will be added to PHIS on August 30, 2021.  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 for export applications for any of the countries added to PHIS on or after August 30, 2021. For these applicable countries in PHIS, 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 listing for the importing country.

II. BACKGROUND

1. Phase One:  On June 29, 2018, FSIS implemented the PHIS export module with the following initial group of 16 countries:  Afghanistan, Andorra, Bahamas, Bolivia, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cook Islands, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Mozambique, San Marino, Tanzania, and Uganda. 
2. Phase Two:  The second group of countries and territories were added to the PHIS export module on May 20, 2019 included:  Angola, Antarctica, Aruba, Bhutan, Botswana, Bouvett Island, Brunei Darussalam, Christmas Island, Comoros, Eritrea, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, French Southern and Antarctic Islands, Greenland, Guernsey, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Isle of Man, Jersey, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, and Vietnam.
3. Phase Three:  The People’s Republic of China (China) was added to the PHIS export module on January 27, 2020.
4. Phase Four:  The fourth group of countries and territories were added to the PHIS export module on July 26, 2021 included:  Bangladesh, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Laos, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mauritania, Micronesia, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Palau, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Tonga.
5. Phase Five:  Beginning Monday, August 30, 2021, FSIS is adding the following countries and territories to the PHIS export module: Benin, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Grenada, Guyana, Honduras, Macao, Myanmar, Panama, Qatar, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, and United Arab Emirates (UAE).
6. The complete list of all countries active in the PHIS export module is also available in the export section of the PHIS Components page of the FSIS website.
7. FSIS IPP will use PHIS to print all FSIS Form 9060-5 series (except for FSIS Form 9060-5EP) export certificates on FSIS security paper as described below for all countries and territories in the PHIS export module.
8. On July 9, 2021, FSIS implemented an enhanced digital signature for IPP when approving export applications and issuing export certificates for countries that accept a digital signature.  After IPP review and approve the certificate package, PHIS will automatically apply the enhanced digital signature to all pages and upload a PDF of the signed export documents into the export task.

III. AWARENESS MEETING WITH ESTABLISHMENT MANAGEMENT

Immediately upon receipt of this notice, the inspector-in-charge (IIC) is to have a meeting with establishment management to make them aware of the contents of this notice.  During the meeting, the IIC is to inform establishment management that:

1. The Phase Five countries listed above will be added to the PHIS export module on Monday, August 30, 2021;
2. Beginning Monday, August 30, 2021, all meat and poultry export applications for these countries are to be processed in PHIS;
3. Beginning Monday, August 30, 2021, FSIS will no longer sign and issue letterhead certificates for exports to any of the Phase Five countries included in PHIS.  Instead, all required statements will be included in PHIS as part of the statements module.  The statements will be selected by the export applicant when completing the export application in PHIS.  PHIS will print the selected statements as part of the export certificate on FSIS Form 9060-5B;
4. All meat and poultry export certificates approved for any of the countries and territories active in PHIS, listed above and in the Export  section (Country Rollout Schedule tab) of the PHIS Components page, will be printed and issued by the FSIS certifying official on FSIS security paper;
5. If not already known, IPP will need the name of the establishment individual who serves as the Establishment Administrator, in addition to a current e-mail 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
6. The PHIS Components page of the FSIS website provides additional information for exporters on gaining access to PHIS, as well as additional information regarding the PHIS export module.

IV. IPP RESPONSIBILITIES

1. IPP are not to process paper export applications and are not to issue the quadruplicate paper export certificate for meat or poultry exports to any of the countries and territories included in PHIS. All export applications (FSIS Form 9060-6) for meat and poultry exports to countries included in PHIS are to be processed through PHIS with the resulting export certificate (FSIS Form 9060-5 or 9060-5S) and any continuation pages (FSIS Form 9060-5A and/or 9060-5B) issued by the FSIS certifying official on FSIS security paper.
2. IPP are to use FSIS security paper to print all export certificates and associated continuation pages for meat and poultry exports certified through PHIS to any of the countries and territories included in PHIS.  Once the export certificate is approved and signed in PHIS, IPP are to print one original copy of the signed export certificate and any continuation pages onto the 8.5" x 11" FSIS security paper.
3. Upon receipt of this notice, IPP that certify exports to any of the Phase Five countries listed above are to order an initial quantity of 8.5" x 11" FSIS security paper to ensure export certificates are printed upon the implementation of Phase Five of the PHIS export module beginning on Monday, August 30, 2021. 
4. IPP are to maintain a sufficient inventory supply of FSIS security paper to fulfill anticipated export certification requests and are not to stockpile security paper for future use.  IPP are to maintain ongoing communication with establishment management to determine the number of expected exports to countries and territories active in PHIS.  This will help IPP determine the amount of security paper to order and maintain.
5. The blank FSIS security paper is an accountable item.  IPP are to record the serial numbers in the property log associated with the corresponding export certificate number issued by PHIS.  IPP are to maintain blank security paper under FSIS control and are not to distribute the paper outside of FSIS for any reason.  FSIS security paper is only to be used for printing one original copy of the approved export certificate and associated continuation pages from PHIS.
6. The security paper has the following features:
   1. Sequential numbering beginning with "0000-0001" with the numbers in red ink;
   2. Full background pantograph of "Void Not Official Copy" on a horizontal angle that appears when copied;
   3. Artificial eagle watermark centered on the page and is viewable when held at a 45-degree angle and is not visible when copied or scanned; and
   4. Chemically treated so that a pencil eraser will not alter the text.
7. For all meat and poultry exports to any of the countries and territories included in PHIS, the system will automatically generate and complete the appropriate export certificate and any continuation pages, based on the data entered by the export applicant during the application process.

V. ENHANCED DIGITAL SIGNATURE

1. FSIS implemented an enhanced digital signature on Friday, July 9, 2021 for all countries active in the PHIS export module that accept a digital signature.  With the enhanced digital signature, IPP will no longer manually apply a digital signature or manually upload any signed export documents for countries that accept a digital signature, including the countries in Phase Five once they are added to PHIS on Monday, August 30, 2021.  
2. The instructions in this section of the notice cancel and replace previous guidance for applying the digital signature in Section DI 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 a PDF of the export document(s), which IPP are to review prior to approval.  After reviewing the export document(s), IPP are to close the PDF window without saving or printing the PDF.
   
   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 (Consumer Safety Inspector (CSI), when a veterinary signature is not required or Public Health Veterinarian (PHV) when a veterinary signature is required) 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 enable PHIS to automatically apply the enhanced digital signature to all pages and upload a PDF of the digitally signed export document(s) into the export task.
5. Upon approval by the FSIS certifying official, the uploaded PDF will appear in the Attachments grid below the Review Certificate Package and Approve and Sign buttons.  The uploaded PDF of the signed export document(s) will have a file name of the export certificate number (e.g., 1234567.pdf) and will be titled as "Signed Document." IPP are to print one official paper copy of the signed export document(s) by clicking the certificate icon under the View column of the attachments grid.  Clicking the Certificate icon opens a separate window with the PDF of the digitally signed export documents.  Once the PDF is open, IPP are to print one copy of the signed export documents on FSIS security paper as described above.  After printing the signed export document(s), IPP are to close the PDF window without saving a copy of the PDF. IPP are to check the Inspection Completed box and save and close the export task.

VI. 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 export shipments to any of the Phase Five countries added to PHIS beginning on Monday, August 30, 2021.  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 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 for the importing country.  PHIS will automatically display all selected statements 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, 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.
3. 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, etc.  The statements used in the PHIS statements module are the exact statements from previous letterhead certificates or other statements as required in the FSIS Export Library for the importing country.  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 for the importing country and the products listed for export on the export certificate. 
4. IPP are to be aware that export applicants can unlock the export application and edit which statements they select or deselect at any point prior to the application’s final approval by the FSIS certifying official, which can be the CSI when no veterinary signature is required or the PHV when a veterinary signature is required.  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.
5. The FSIS Export Library listings for the Phase Five countries will be updated to 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 listing for Phase Five countries until these countries are added to PHIS on Monday, August 30, 2021.  On Monday, August 30, 2021, the FSIS Export Library listings for the new 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.

VII. 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.  Upon receipt of this notice, IPP certifying exports to any of the Phase Five countries or territories listed above are to 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.

VIII. ACCOUNTABLE FORMS AND SUPPLIES

Accountable export supplies, including the 8.5" x 11" FSIS security paper (item number ECP-11) and seven-digit export stamp (item number FSIS-03-7), are 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 e-mail to cfpdc@dm.usda.gov or via fax to (301) 394-0300.

IX. 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.