Import composite products from the EU to Great Britain
Find out what a composite product is, and how to import or move composite products from the EU to Great Britain.
If you import composite products from the EU into Great Britain you’ll need to find the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) risk category for the commodity you’re importing.
This guidance applies to businesses in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) importing or moving composite products from the EU to Great Britain.
Composite products contain both of the following:
- processed products of animal origin (POAO) for human consumption
- plant products
Examples of composite products include:
- lasagne
- pork pies
- pepperoni pizza
- cream liqueurs
- chicken burritos
Plant-based products that contain no POAO are not composite products.
You can go to the decision tree in information leaflets for businesses to find out if your product is a composite product.
Product standards for composite products imported from the EU to Great Britain
Your composite product must meet certain standards to be imported from the EU to Great Britain.
Products that must come from both an approved country and approved establishment
Certain types of composite product must come from both:
- a country that’s approved to export to Great Britain
- a premises that’s approved to export to Great Britain (this does not apply to wild-caught fish)
If the composite product contains the following ingredients in the quantities specified, the ingredients must come from an approved country and an approved establishment:
- any amount of meat
- any amount of non-shelf-stable dairy
- at least 50% of shelf-stable dairy
- at least 50% of fish product
- at least 50% of eggs
Find approved countries at:
You may need a catch certificate and processing statement or storage document if your product:
- contains 20% or more marine-caught fish or fishery products
- will be imported using tariff code 1604 or tariff code 1605
Composite products with other POAO, such as honey, gelatine and snails
Honey in composite products must come from a country with a residue control plan. Find out more in the import information note on honey, royal jelly and other apiculture products (PDF,162KB).
Find out about gelatine and collagen as a source POAO in the import information note on gelatine and collagen for human consumption (PDF, 152KB).
Find out about snail meat as a source POAO in the import information note on snail meat for human consumption (PDF, 158KB).
If a composite product made with other POAO also contains any meat, dairy or eggs, the meat, dairy or eggs component will need to be processed at a premises approved by Great Britain.
If the product contains less than 50% other POAO it may be exempt from import notification and other import controls at the border.
Find out more in the section ‘Exemptions from controls’.
Commercial documents
Low risk imports of composite products from the EU must have a commercial document. Your exporter must complete this.
The commercial document must travel with the consignment and must include the following information:
- description of what’s in the consignment, for example ‘cooked meat’, and volume or quantity details, or a copy of the food label
- name of the person or organisation who sent it
- name of the person or organisation it’s being sent to
- address of the premises of origin
- address of the destination premises
- reference identifying the lot, batch or consignment
- date the consignment was sent
- name and address of the transporter and details on how the consignment will be transported
Residue control plans
All countries must have residue control plans for certain animals and animal products they export to Great Britain, for example, meat, dairy, eggs, fish and honey. A residue control plan is a system for testing products for chemical residues and contaminants.
The POAO in a composite product must originate from a country with a residue control plan. Otherwise you will not be able to import the product to Great Britain.
You can check if there is a residue control plan in place for a country at the following:
Notify the authorities in Great Britain
You must submit an import notification on the import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS) for your composite products imported from:
- the EU
- Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, San Marino, Faroes or Greenland
Get help
If you need technical help with IPAFFS you can:
- call the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) helpline on 03300 416 999
- email APHAServiceDesk@apha.gov.uk
If you need help to complete import notifications for composite products, contact the Port Health Authority at your nominated border control post.
Checks at the border
Unless they are from Ireland, there are checks at the border on medium and low risk goods from the EU. Unless they are from Ireland, all goods must enter Great Britain through a point of entry that has the relevant border control post (BCP).
Goods moving directly from the Republic of Ireland must enter England or Scotland through a point of entry with a relevant BCP, or through Heysham. Goods from Ireland can enter Wales through any named point of entry.
There are separate rules for qualifying Northern Ireland goods.
Find out if your consignment needs SPS checks
If you’re importing composite products from the EU to Great Britain, you must present the consignment at the relevant border control post (BCP) if it is called for SPS checks.
If you’re importing the goods through an airport, the authorities will carry out any necessary checks before they release the consignment for collection by your transporter.
If you’re importing the goods through a port, the way to find out if your consignment needs SPS checks will depend on whether your transporter is using the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) to clear customs.
If your transporter is using GVMS, they will use the check if you need to report for an inspection service to find out what they need to do.
If your transporter is not using GVMS, IPAFFS will provide an initial risk assessment telling you if your consignment needs SPS checks when you submit your import notification. If your consignment does need checks, you’ll also receive a text and email message 2 hours before your driver’s estimated time of arrival in Great Britain. The message will confirm what you need to do.
If IPAFFS tells you your consignment has not been selected for SPS checks, you should still check for messages until your consignment has cleared the port, because the authorities may still call you for checks based on their final risk assessment.
Read separate guidance if you’re transiting animal products through Great Britain under the Common Transit Convention.
Find out what happens at BCPs.
Exemptions from controls
Some composite products are exempt from import controls at the UK border. Exempt products do not need to enter Great Britain through a border control post (BCP). They can enter through any point of entry.
Products are exempt if they are all of the following:
- shelf-stable at ambient temperature or have undergone complete cooking or heat treatment during manufacture so that any raw product is denatured
- made without processed meat, meat extracts or powders
- made with less than 50% of any other processed POAO (any dairy must come from an approved country and have undergone the correct heat treatment for that country)
- labelled for human consumption
- securely packaged or sealed in clean containers
Examples of exempt products are:
- confectionery (including sweets) and chocolate that is heat-treated and contains less than 50% processed dairy and egg products
- pasta and noodles not mixed or filled with processed meat product, that have been heat-treated and contain less than 50% processed dairy and egg products
- bread, cakes, biscuits, waffles and wafers, rusks, toasted bread and similar toasted products that are heat-treated and contain less than 20% processed dairy and egg products
- olives stuffed with fish
- soup stocks and flavourings packaged for the final consumer that are heat-treated and contain less than 50% fish oils, fish powders or fish extracts
- food supplements packaged for the final consumer that contain less than 20% in total of processed animal products (including glucosamine, chondroitin or chitosan) other than meat products
- products accompanied by a commercial document
A list of exempt composite products is in Annex 2 of the import information note CP/1.
Commercial documents for exempt products
You must use a commercial document to import composite products that are exempt from import controls. The commercial document or product labelling must be in English and must include:
- the nature, quantity and number of packages of the composite products
- the country of origin
- the manufacturer
- a list of ingredients
Moving composite products from Northern Ireland to Great Britain
You can move composite products from Northern Ireland to Great Britain if they’re qualifying Northern Ireland goods.
Non-composite products
You need to follow guidance on importing or moving food and drink from the EU to Great Britain if your product:
- is unprocessed POAO – for example, raw chicken
- contains small amounts of plant-based products added for processing or to give extra flavour – examples include yoghurts with added fruit, or cheese with herbs
- contains several types of POAO but does not meet the composite product definition
You need to follow different rules if you’re [importing animal products not for human consumption, such as pet food](Import animal by-products from the EU to Great Britain - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Legislation
The following regulations give more information about composite products, including definitions:
Getting help with your customs declaration
Updates to this page
Last updated 30 April 2024 + show all updates
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Updated with information about commercial documents, and to take account of new rules coming into force on 30 April 2024.
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The page has been updated in line with regulations from 31 January 2024.
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Removed guidance relating to documents needed to import composite products from 1 November 2022.
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Removed references to changes to import controls previously due to come into effect on 1 July 2022, as these have been postponed. The page will be updated in autumn 2022 with new dates for import controls.
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Import controls on EU goods to Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) planned from July will not be introduced in 2022. The controls that have already been introduced remain in place. This page will be updated in autumn 2022.
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Updated the section 'If you need help with your customs declaration'.
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Added a 'If you need help with your customs declaration' section.
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Updated with helpline for import notifications.
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Guidance updated to show change in rules from 1 January 2022 for imports from the Republic of Ireland to Great Britain.
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Updated to show changes to dates when import rules apply to imports from the EU to Great Britain.
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Updated with new dates for the introduction of controls on imports of composite products.
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Content added about products that cannot be imported using a composite health certificate from 1 October 2021.
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First published.