Import composite products from the EU and Northern Ireland to Great Britain

Guide

Last updated 5 February 2024

If you import composite products from the EU into Great Britain you’ll need to find the Target Operating Model (TOM) 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 and Northern Ireland 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 with no POAO content 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 contain processed meat or a minimum of 50% milk, dairy, egg or fishery products

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 POAO ingredients in the quantities specified, the ingredients in the product 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

See the list of approved EU countries.

See the list of approved non-EU countries.

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

Products that must come from both an approved country and approved establishment

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.

Residue 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.

You will not be able to import to Great Britain without one.

You can check if there is a residue control plan in place for a country at the following:

Contact 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

If you need help with import notifications

You can call the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) helpline on 03300 416 999, or email  APHAServiceDesk@apha.gov.uk.

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 and Northern Ireland 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.