The WTO's SPS Agreement contains a set of substantive and procedural provisions aimed at protecting the health and life of human beings, animals and plants simultaneously preventing unjustifiable barriers to trade.

Due to globalization, import of food products is being carried out on a large scale with each country following different standards. Many countries have voiced their concern against the inferior quality of the imported food products. But on the other hand, countries are forced to protect their domestic food producers from the strict health and safety regulations of the other countries. All countries realize that we need standard health and safety regulations which can apply for all countries. In 1994, at the Uruguay round, the World Trade Organization (WTO) framed Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) which provided rules and disciplines for the establishment and application of measures to protect human, animal and plant health and life from risk associated diseases, food additives, toxins, contaminants, and disease-causing organisms in food. These SPS measures ensure that the food products come from a disease-free area. They also check the quality of products, the specific treatment or processing of products and minimum level of pesticides. The SPS measures apply to all products including the imported food products and the domestic food products. The SPS measures lay down laws, policies and regulation procedures which are related to end products, processes, approval decisions, testing procedures, inspection procedures and packaging and labeling.

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