Following the recent Foot and Mouth disease outbreak in Germany, to assist traders, Defra has issued the following update.
Foot and Mouth Disease in Germany – Imports update 22 January 2025
- Recap of restrictions
- Link to recording of last week’s webinar for businesses
- FMD – Permitted treatments for raw ham and pepperoni
- FMD – Import conditions for untreated wool and hair, animal casings
- Useful information
Restrictions on the movement of certain live animals and animal product imports from Germany into GB
As previously communicated, Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) has suspended the import of the following commodities to Great Britain from Germany, following a confirmed case of FMD on 10 January 2025:
- live (including non-domestic) ungulates (ruminants and porcine animals, including wild game) and their germplasm
- fresh meat from ungulates
- meat products from ungulates that have not been subject to specific treatment D1 or higher (including wild game)
- milk, colostrum and their products, unless subjected to treatment as defined in Article 4 of Regulation 605/2010
- animal by-products, unless treated to effectively mitigate the risk of FMD
Defra has issued information on the restrictions, and technical details are on the relevant lists on GOV UK.
Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) webinar recording
A reminder that you can watch the recording of last week’s FMD webinar for businesses (link opens YouTube). Our Defra subject matter experts answered the most common questions from businesses, including on processing requirements.
FMD – Permitted treatments for raw ham and pepperoni
We’ve received questions about permitted treatments for products which go through a fermentation and maturation process, such as raw ham or pepperoni. These products must comply with the treatment requirements in D.
Raw ham will require a treatment consisting of natural fermentation and maturation of not less than nine months and resulting in the following characteristics:
- Aw value of not more than 0.93
- pH value of not more than 6.0
Short-fermented products with German content, such as pepperoni, will still require the heat treatment set out in D, even if they meet the pH and AW level in D.
FMD – Import conditions for untreated wool and hair, animal casings
To protect animal health in Great Britain, action has been taken to amend the foot and mouth disease (FMD) import conditions for:
- untreated wool and hair
- animal casings
Imports of untreated wool and hair of species susceptible to foot and mouth disease (FMD) (except porcines) will only be permitted from countries or zones that are recognised as free of FMD by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), and must be accompanied by:
- a commercial document or importer declaration (if applicable**)
- the health certificate provided in the safeguard declaration (only applicable to countries with FMD that are exporting from FMD-free zones)
** Import of untreated wool and hair – Import Information Note (IIN) ABP/23A – GOV.UK contains guidance on when an importer declaration would be applicable.
Imports of animal casings of species susceptible to FMD, classical swine fever (CSF) and African swine fever (ASF) without specific risk mitigating treatment will only be permitted from EU and EFTA countries and non-EU countries or zones approved to export fresh meat of the relevant species and are recognised by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) as free of FMD. For countries or zones that are not recognised as free of FMD and/or not approved to export fresh meat of the relevant species, the casings must:
- come from holdings that are not under restrictions due to notifiable diseases in Annex 4 of the special measure below
- have been subjected to a risk mitigating treatment as set out in the relevant model export health certificate
For imports of animal casing, the date from which the animal casings certificate (GBHC370 Version 2.0 Jan-25) must be used is 16 April 2025, allowing for a three-month implementation period. Version GBHC370 v1.1 Aug-23 will only be accepted until 16 April 2025. This is the last date (inclusive) that the certificate will be accepted, based on the date it was signed, not the date the consignment arrives in Great Britain.
From 17 January 2025, importers of untreated wool and untreated hair (except porcine), and animal casings of species susceptible to FMD must ensure compliance with the new requirements. Please see Imports, exports and EU trade of animals and animal products: topical issues – GOV.UK for more information on the new requirements.
What to do if your animal product import is held at the border
If your animal product import is being held at the border, there may be a number of reasons:
- current restrictions due to foot and mouth disease in Germany
- the Port Health Authority requires an inspection
- Incorrect, missing or no documentation
- errors in your CHED import notification or your customs declaration
Your first point of contact for animal product imports held at the border should always be the port health authority at the point of entry. You’ll find full contact details for all PHAs on GOV UK and on this map. You must provide:
- The CHED import notification references (format CHEDX.2025.XXXXXXX) for the consignments being held
- Vehicle registrations and trailer numbers for any trucks or trailers held
It’s also useful to provide the customs declaration MRN number and the Goods Movement Reference if there is one. The PHA will be able to tell you why the goods are being held and what action you need to take to resolve the hold.
Useful contacts
Imports of animal products: for urgent questions about imports of animal products, including germinal products, contact the Port Health Authority or Local Authority at the Border Control Post (BCP) for the goods’ point of entry. Find the BCP and the PHA/LA contact information on this map or list.
Imports of live animals: for urgent questions about imports of live animals, contact APHA.
Useful links
Topical Issues – Guidance for imports on gov.uk
Preliminary outbreak assessment
Guidance for imports of non-harmonised Animal by-products
Guidance for imports of Research & diagnostic samples (ABP)
Please see the previous BIFA article: UPDATED! Application of BIFA STCs and CMR Convention – Foot and Mouth outbreak in Germany
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