The Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards deals with standards "necessary" to protect humans, animals and plants from certain hazards associated with the movement of plants, animals and foodstuffs in international trade. Most countries enact measures in these areas to protect the environment or human, animal and plant health from:

• The risks from pests, diseases and disease-related organisms entering the country with the traded goods; and
• The risks from chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, toxins, veterinary medicines in foods, beverages, or animal feed.

Like the TBT Agreement, the SPS Agreement provides the rules for when sanitary and phytosanitary measures may be allowed and what conditions they must meet (such as notification, transparency in developing the rules, the use of international standards when appropriate, and so on). It requires that standards be based on scientific evidence and that a risk assessment be undertaken. Special provision is made for temporary measures when current scientific information is insufficient to adopt permanent measures, making the SPS one of the few WTO Agreements to observe the principle of precaution.