Advice is now available on the Seafish website for businesses wanting to export seafood outside the EU.
Ivan Bartolo of the Seafish Legislation Department said: “Whilst imports of fish and seafood from outside the EU are very strictly regulated at the border, the only controls the UK places on exports are those that are relevant to all food businesses. However the seafood will have to meet any particular requirements for importing that the non-EU country may have.
“The onus is very much on the exporter to find out in advance what specific requirements the importing country may have in excess of UK and EU requirements, with respect to health certificates, documents, procedures and legislation. As this will vary country by country, we have provided guidance on how UK seafood businesses could go about finding this information.”
The general advice is to speak to the contact at the importing company or shipping agent, to find out as much as possible about import requirements.
The next step is to contact the trade department of the embassy of the importing country, and get in touch with the UK embassy in the importing country. The exporter’s local Environmental Health personnel have an important role to play: they will generally try to endorse the foreign health certificate and, if they have dealt with that country in the past, will be able to give advice on any extra requirements.
“The guidance at www.seafish.org/b2b/info.asp?p=300 is all about satisfying food safety and certification requirements when exporting seafood. It is full of links to sources of further information including the Seafish export profiles which currently include the export of seafood to the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, South Africa, China, Russia and Japan. A further eight guides are planned,” said Ivan.
The Seafish Legislation team advises the industry on its current legal requirements and engages with government on any proposed changes to legislation affecting the seafood industry.
