How to Check a Caviar Producer on the CITES Register

The name on a caviar tin’s lid may be different from the business recorded in the CITES register. The detail that connects them is the plant code on the label, right down to its letters, punctuation and leading zeros.

Look up that code on the official page for the country where the caviar was packed or repacked. A match identifies a registered operation. It is a traceability check, not a verdict on quality or confirmation of what is inside the tin.

What the CITES register records

“Register of caviar exporters” is the public register’s title, but its reach extends beyond exporters. Country pages also list processing/repackaging plants, making it useful for identifying the business behind a packing code.

The CITES Secretariat publishes information supplied by national authorities. Resolution Conf. 12.7 (Rev. CoP17), paragraph 2(a), recommends that importing, exporting and re-exporting Parties establish registration systems, where consistent with national law, and notify facilities and codes to the Secretariat. The CITES resolutions index still lists that revision after CoP20. Domestic legislation supplies the enforceable requirements.

If you cannot identify the plant-code field, start with the label basics. Search by that code, rather than the brand name on the lid: the registered business may have a different name.

How to search the CITES register

Teaching example: country ZZ and plant code 0000 are placeholders, not a real label or details to copy onto packaging. Replace them with the country and complete plant code from your tin.

1. Photograph the whole label. Capture the complete sequence, including spaces, letters, leading zeros and punctuation. Check ambiguous characters, such as the letter O and the digit 0, against the photograph rather than guessing.

2. Identify the packing country. For an original processing label, use the country of origin. For repacked caviar, use the repackaging country incorporated into the repacker’s code when it differs from origin. Do not choose a country from the brand’s address alone.

3. Find the official country page. Search for CITES Register of caviar exporters followed by the full country name represented by ZZ. Open the result on cites.org, not a seller’s copied list. Official French and US pages are linked in Sources.

4. Search within the page. Use your browser’s Find in page command, usually Ctrl+F or Command+F, to find the plant code, represented here by 0000. On a phone, use the equivalent command in the browser menu. Read the entire matching row.

5. Compare the full entry. Match the code with the business name and address. Check for a processing or repackaging operation and note any registration date. A short number inside a longer code is not an exact match. Ask the authority if the activity or code is unclear.

6. Save the result. Record the country page, listed name, full code and lookup date. If the tin and entry disagree, keep both records for the seller or authority. Do not silently correct the label yourself.

How to read an entry

Read across the whole row, not just the code. The French and US pages checked show columns headed Code, Address, Exporter and Processing/Repackaging. The business name sits within the address information; some entries also include a registration date and contact details.

An unsuccessful search calls for investigation, rather than an automatic finding of fraud.

Processing and repackaging share one activity column, rather than being consistently separated into two categories. A “Yes” therefore does not by itself tell you which activity the facility performs. The resolution recommends adding P or R where consistent with national registration systems, but do not assume every country follows one code format. Read the published entry and ask the authority if the distinction matters.

First packing, transferring caviar into new containers and selling sealed tins are different roles, even when one business performs several.

What a match establishes

A match establishes one precise fact: the published register contains the operation and code reported through the registration system.

It does not establish:

• The caviar’s quality or freshness.
• The operation’s current trading activity.
• The farm that raised the fish.
• The identity of the roe inside your tin.

Registration belongs in a traceability check; authenticating an individual product is a separate task.

For the question of whether a label accurately describes its contents, see what a CITES label can prove.

Updates and national checks

For confirmation of a code, ask the relevant national authority. Resolution Conf. 12.7 says lists should be updated when changes occur and communicated to the Secretariat without delay. That is not a promise of daily website updates, and no fixed publication interval is stated. Country entries were checked in November 2026.

In the EU, Article 66(7) of Regulation (EC) No 865/2006 requires member-state licensing, unique plant codes and notification of lists and changes to the Secretariat and European Commission. Ask the relevant member state’s CITES Management Authority for confirmation. Germany’s BfN, for example, explains its national registration procedure.

In the UK, direct code queries to APHA’s wildlife licensing team. In the US, 50 CFR 23.71(i) allows holders of a current FWS import/export licence who wish to be listed to submit their details and plant codes through USFWS to the international register. Consult the CITES register’s country pages, rather than an unofficial list.

For Switzerland, contact the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office, FSVO, for CITES enquiries. Keep the identifiers distinct: a food-establishment approval number or company-registration number cannot replace a CITES plant code. Each serves a different purpose.

If you cannot find the code

Check the transcription and packing country first. Then search for a distinctive part of the code and the listed business name. An unsuccessful search calls for investigation, rather than an automatic finding of fraud. A retailer selling sealed, correctly labelled containers may not itself be the registered packer.

Ask the seller to identify the registered operation and explain any mismatch. Supply clear photographs of the complete label and tin. If the answer does not resolve the discrepancy, use the CITES directory of national authorities to find the Management Authority for the packing country. Your own national authority can also help route the enquiry.

Include the full code, seller’s details, purchase date and country page searched. Ask whether the code was registered for the relevant date and whether the listed name or address has changed. These are specific questions the authority can investigate. For related checks, return to caviar labels and authenticity.