All fruits and vegetables imported into or exported from the United Kingdom must comply with applicable quality and labelling regulations. Imports of fruit and vegetables (whether fresh, dried, tinned, processed or frozen) from third countries must meet the same hygiene standards and go through the same safety procedures as food produced in Great Britain. You do not usually need a health certificate to import fruit and vegetables.
The Horticultural Marketing Inspectorate (HMI) inspects English and Welsh imports, whereas Science & Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) inspects imported goods in Scotland. If HMI or SASA decide to inspect your shipment, they will inform you that you must apply for a certificate of conformity (CoC) issued from Great Britain.
The UK had announced a progressive application of additional controls and checks post-Brexit. However, the government has announced recently that the remaining import controls on EU goods will no longer be introduced this year. Instead, traders will continue to move their goods from the European Union to Great Britain as they do now.
Before entering the United Kingdom, a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) is required for any items that must comply with the Specific Marketing Standard (SMS).
Unless your SMS shipment fits both conditions, you will need a CoC issued by the United Kingdom.
The following countries and goods have UK AIS status: India, Israel, Kenya, Morocco, New Zealand, Senegal, South Africa, Switzerland, and Turkey are members of the G20.
Most imports accompanied by a CoC from countries with UK AIS status do not need routine quality and labelling (marketing standards) checks. HMI or SASA will inspect a small sample at random to ensure that goods comply with the quality and labelling rules.
Some commodities that must comply with the General Marketing Standard (GMS) will be examined to meet quality and labelling standards. If HMI or SASA decide to inspect your shipment, you must request for a CoC granted by Great Britain.
You must apply for a CoC on PEACH for GMS goods even if you are importing from a nation with AIS status and possess a CoC granted by that country.
Fruits and vegetables in transit from non-EU nations through the EU to the United Kingdom continue to be evaluated by horticultural inspectors to determine whether an inspection is required at the border and to ensure compliance with UK marketing guidelines.
In England and Wales, HMI and PHSI may inspect produce governed by both marketing requirements and plant health legislation. SASA conducts product inspections in Scotland.
At the border, HMI and PHSI conduct the majority of quality and labelling (marketing standards) checks. PHSI may inspect produce at plant health facilities throughout the United States.
Suppose you import fruit and vegetables into the United Kingdom from a non-EU country, and a portion of your shipment is re-exported to the EU. In that case, your shipment must undergo import and export procedures.
If you export fruit and vegetables from Great Britain to the EU, you must adhere to the import criteria for third countries outlined in the EU marketing standards laws.
To clear customs in Great Britain, SMS produce requires a CoC issued by Great Britain. This includes exports to the European Union. For GMS goods to clear customs, a CoC issued by Great Britain is not required.
You may also need an import CoC granted by the importing member state upon arrival into the EU. This relies on the risk assessment of the member state for GMS and SMS commodities. The European Commission has given the United Kingdom AIS status for produce.
AIS status enables GB exporters of British-grown produce to use a CoC issued by the UK while obtaining customs clearance in the EU. Prior to importation into the EU, a sample of shipments may be inspected to ensure conformance with EU marketing rules.
Approved trader status identifies a business as low-risk and reduces the number of conformity assessments. You can obtain approved trader status if you are a grower, packer, importer, or exporter, and your business consistently meets marketing standards requirements.
If you are a member of the ATS in the United Kingdom, you must remove the EU insignia from your food labelling and replace it with the GB badge. It would help if you only sold your current inventory with the EU logo in the United Kingdom until your current labels run out.
The GB label must contain the following:
Before delivering your shipment, you must comply with the country’s quality and labelling standards.
All SMS items must have a CoC issued by Great Britain to clear customs in the United Kingdom. GMS goods do not require a CoC issued by the United Kingdom to clear customs in the United Kingdom.
Before being exported from the UK to a non-EU country, most fruits and vegetables require a phytosanitary certificate. If you export fruits and vegetables to Northern Ireland, you should review DAERA’s export guidelines for plants and plant products.
We value your feedback, and if you have any comments, suggestions or anything else that you would like to highlight to us, we will be delighted to hear from you and incorporate your feedback into our content.
Note: While we have made every attempt to ensure that the information contained in this Site has been obtained from reliable sources, Customs Declarations UK is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. All information in this Site is provided “as is”, with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Nothing herein shall to any extent substitute for the independent investigations and the sound technical and business judgment of the reader. In no event will Customs Declarations UK, or its partners, employees or agents, be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information in this Site or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages. Certain links in this Site connect to other Web Sites maintained by third parties over whom Customs Declarations UK has no control. Customs Declarations UK makes no representations as to the accuracy or any other aspect of information contained in other Web Sites.