Imported Food Control
SEE OUR LATEST NEWS page for details of important changes to UK Government policy relating to imports from the EU.
At the present time, Products of Animal Origin and High Risk Food of Non-Animal Origin imported from Rest of the World Countries (outside of Europe/EEA) can only be imported into the UK through an approved Border Control Post (BCP).
The Port of Hull is a BCP (GBHUL1H) designated for the importation of frozen, packaged fishery products, high risk food of non-animal origin and plastic kitchenware's consigned from China and Hong Kong ONLY.
A list of UK Border Control Posts and their designations is maintained on Gov.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-border-control-posts-animal-and-animal-product-imports
From the 1st January 2022, all EU products of animal origin and high-risk food of non-animal origin must also be pre-notified on IPAFFS.
Illegal, Unreported & Unregulated Fishing Controls (IUU)
Port Health Authority's are responsible for checking and verifying Catch Certificates for consignments of fishery products arriving into GB.
All requests for IUU catch certificate verification made to this Authority should be submitted using PHILIS DES. Please contact us if you require further information.
Details of our fee's for this service can be found on OUR CHARGES page.
Please see our LATEST NEWS page for further guidance on IUU requirements.
Imported Food of Non-Animal Origin
Official Controls are undertaken by our Officers on imports of high risk food products of non-animal origin (controls on high risk feed are the responsibility of Trading Standards).
This can include the collection of food samples for analysis and/or microbiological examination to assist our judgement or for local/national surveillance purposes. Consignments may be detained pending the receipt of sample results and importers are therefore advised to plan accordingly.
Rejected consignments may be destroyed or re-exported, according to risk, at the owner's expense.
Importers must pre-notify BCPs at least 1 working day before the physical arrival of the consignment by completing Part 1 of the Common Health Entry Document (CHED-D) on IPAFFS. Costs incurred as a result of the completion of controls will be recharged by this Authority to importers.
A list of food products subject to current import restrictions is maintained by the Food Standards Agency and can be accessed here : https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/foodstuffs-with-gb-import-restrictions
Our fees for this service are available on the OUR CHARGES page.
Organic Imports
The Organic Products Regulations 2009 require that imports of organic produce must be pre-notified to the Authority in advance of arrival. Each consignment must be accompanied by an organic Certificate of Inspection (COI). This certificate enables our Officers to check and verify the provenance of such consignments and endorse bona-fide organic goods.
Importers and their agents are advised to consult with our Inspectors before proceeding.
All requests for the endorsement of organic COI's should be submitted to the Authority using PHILIS DES. Please contact us if you require further information.
Currently there is a national fee of £45 per COI for this service.
Further information on the requirements for the import of organic food and feed is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/importing-organic-food-to-the-uk
