For any food, and cosmetic product to be sold in the Republic of Panama a Sanitary Registration issued by the Ministry of Health must be first obtained.

Requirements and Proceeding for the Sanitary Registration of Food and Cosmetic Products

1. Power of Attorney duly granted to a legal counsel empowering him or her to proceed with the presentation of sanitary registration petition.
2. Affidavit regarding the food product, which should be given by the legal representative of the corporation, the manufacturer, importer, distributor or/and dealer of specified food product.
3. Original Free Sales Certificate for the product imported, issued or countersigned by the Sanitary Authority of the country of origin, with no more than six (6) months of issuing prior to the petition date. This document must be legalized.
4. Sanitary Certification of the plant or manufacturer company, which must be issued by the Authority of the Department of Food Protection regarding national products according to the plant classification established by the Ministry of Health.
5. Original label or design (with its complete information).
6. Four (4) samples of the product of the same batch, with a minimum size of 200g.
7. Declaration and interpretation of the Batch Code Number.
8. Zoo Sanitation Certificate issued by the Ministry Pertaining to Farming and Animal Husbandry of the Republic of Panama, for meat products, fish products and dairy products by means of which the country of origin of the mentioned products is indicated.
9. Once the petition is presented before the Department of Food Protection. Analysis and Registry Division of the Ministry of Health, it is verified. The petition is then provided with an invoice detailing the costs of registration and controls, so that the respective payments can be made. These payments will be carried out once the petition has been approved. Completed this process, the certificate of Sanitary Registration is awarded.

NOTE: Some Products involve additional requirements.

In the case of renewal of Sanitary Registration, requisites are as follow:

1. Affidavit specifying the registry number of the product wished to be renewal.
2. Free Sales Certificate for foreign product.
3. Four (4) of the product.
4. Voucher of cancellation of registration and control fees.