Except as provided in § 557.16, each consignment containing any fish or fish products consigned to the United States from a foreign country must be accompanied by an electronic foreign inspection certificate or a paper foreign inspection certificate for fish and fish products. The certificate must have been issued by an official of the foreign government agency responsible for the inspection and certification.

An official of the foreign government must certify that any fish or fish product described on any official certificate was produced in accordance with the regulatory requirements in § 557.2.

The electronic foreign inspection certification must be in English, be transmitted directly to FSIS before the product's arrival at the official import inspection establishment, and be available to import inspection personnel.

The paper foreign inspection certificate must accompany each consignment; be submitted to import inspection personnel at the official import inspection establishment; be in English; bear the official seal of the foreign government responsible for the inspection of the product, and the name, title, and signature of the official authorized to issue inspection certificates for products imported to the United States.

The electronic foreign inspection certification and paper foreign inspection certificate must contain:

The date;

The foreign country of export and the producing foreign establishment number;

The species used to produce the product and the source country and foreign establishment number, if the source materials originate from a country other than the exporting country;

The product's description, including the process category, the product category, and the product group;

The name and address of the importer or consignee;

The name and address of the exporter or consignor;

The number of units (pieces or containers) and the shipping or identification;

The net weight of each lot;

Any additional information the Administrator requests to determine whether the product is eligible to be imported into the United States.