certification of meat and dairy products canada expressed concerns about the effects of the memorandum order mo7 from the philippines department of agriculture noting that it would have serious effects upon its exports of meat and dairy products. while canada did not quarrel with the requirement that imports be produced in plants applying haccp procedures and that there be a certification to this effect it was not clear whether philippine producers were subject to similar requirements. the requirement of a third party independent certification was unwarranted and not the least trade restrictive option. canadas governmental authority the canadian food inspection agency was prepared to certify that exports to the philippines had been produced in haccp compliant plants and there was no need for additional certification by a third party. the european communities australia korea new zealand and the united states shared this concern. the ec certification requirements already put a lot of emphasis on haccp compliance. australia felt that the philippines proposed measures were not in accordance with sps obligations. the philippines clarified that certification of haccp compliance by third party auditors was required in the light of several documented cases of contaminated products entering the country. the philippines was concerned that not all shipments came from well established haccp compliant plants. the measures were not meant to replace or duplicate the exporting countrys inspection system but to complement it. the philippines believed that appropriate and sufficient time had been provided to trading partners and foresaw no problem that trade restrictions might occur especially for countries claiming to be haccp compliant. the philippines indicated that haccp was a universal guideline approved and propagated by fao and who. in april 2003 canada reported that on 24 february 2003 the minister of agriculture of the philippines had announced that implementation of memorandum order 7 requiring third party certification for haccp plants had been postponed. the european communities new zealand and the united states shared canadas appreciation of this decision. the philippines confirmed that mo7 had been deferred indefinitely.