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Import guidance
Products of animal origin(current)
Composite products
High risk food not of animal origin
Organic consignments
Plastic kitchenware from China and Hong Kong
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Products of animal origin

What are products of animal origin?

Products of Animal Origin (POAO) are goods derived from animals, and include; certain live animals for direct human consumption, foodstuffs, animal by-products, and goods that may have come into contact with animals - such as hay.

Southampton Border Control Post is approved to handle imported packaged products for both human and non-human consumption under controlled or ambient temperature conditions (see below).

Human consumption

Red meat, farmed game and poultry
Fish and shellfish
Dairy products
Honey
Composite products

Non-human consumption

Animal by-products within pet food, dog chews, dried meal worms for wild bird feed, feathers, wool, blood, fertiliser
Hay and straw

Why are POAO controlled? SHOW

Official controls are in place to make sure imported food and feed products meet UK requirements for human and animal health. As one of many important steps to ensuring the safety of imported products, imports are checked at approved Border Control Posts (BCP), such as Southampton.

What documentation is required when importing a POAO? SHOW

Regulation (EU) 2019/2007 (as retained) lists the products that are subject to veterinary checks.

The first stage when importing POAO into Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the documentary check. Products can only be imported from countries on an approved list collated by DEFRA and must originate from approved premise. Most of the products of animal origin require a health certificate issued by the competent authority of the exporting country, which contains declarations of compliance with the human and animal health attestations laid down in the import conditions - but it will depend on the import conditions for each particular type of product.

Import conditions covering the import of most animal products are available in Importer Information Notes published by APHA which can be found on the DEFRA website.

Pre-notification of consignments must be done by submission of a CHED-P with Part 1 completed. This can be completed electronically on the import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS) which is a database operated by DEFRA and used to generate the CHED-P. The person responsible for the load must notify the Port Health Authority responsible for the BCP by submitting the original, signed CHED-P to Port Health at least one working day prior to arrival of the consignment along with the required documents.

Part 2 of the CHEDP is completed by the Officer/OV in IPAFFS when all the checks have been completed. It is a legal requirement that the completed CHEDP accompanies the consignment to the delivery address.

In addition to providing a Health Certificate and a CHED P, accompanying commercial documents such as a bill of lading, invoice and packing list are also required.

What checks are carried out at the Border Control Post? SHOW

Identity check

Consignments are also subject to an identity check which includes verification of the product, identification marks and other product information as stated on the health certificates and supporting documents.

Physical check

A percentage of consignments must be physically checked to see that the product remains fit for its intended purpose. This may include sampling the product to look for pathogenic micro-organisms or contaminants such as veterinary residues.

Consignments of products of animal origin may not be removed from the BCP until all veterinary checks are completed and the required fees paid.

Products failing to satisfy import conditions may be re-dispatched to a country outside GB. A legal notice is served requiring that the product is to be re-dispatched or destroyed. An appeal may usually be brought to a magistrates court and must be made within one month of the notice being served. If the consignment is deemed to be a risk to human or animal health or where the person responsible for the consignment fails to comply with its re-export, it must be sent for destruction. All costs for destruction are to be met by the person responsible for the consignment load.