To help understand the implications of the new legislation Seafish has worked with the Association of Port Health Authorities (APHA) on an explanatory guidance note.
“It is in the interests of any business importing seafood into the UK to be fully conversant with the new legislation, so that they can check existing labelling against the new advisory standard, and consider the new requirements when purchasing new products and specifying new packaging,” said Ivan Bartolo, Seafish Legislation Department. “The APHA guidelines are a practical guide to the legislation and are easily accessible from the APHA website www.apha.org.uk.
“The new identification mark requirements did take effect in July last year, but it is worth reiterating the key points to avoid the costly rejection of consignments that do not meet the requirements,” said Ivan.
In its simplest form the identification marking on the seafood product to be imported must be applied to the product before it leaves the production establishment, the marks must be legible and indelible, the characters easily decipherable and must be clearly displayed for the competent authorities. The mark must indicate the name of the country in which the establishment is located, either written out in full or shown as a two letter code in accordance with the relevant ISO standard. The mark must indicate the approval number of the establishment.
There is a reduced requirement for marking products of animal origin arriving in large packages intended for further handling, processing, wrapping or packaging in another establishment. Where considered necessary, border inspection staff will ask the importer to supply documentation or other forms of reassurance that the product is indeed intended for one of these activities. The APHA Guidance contains examples detailing when the reduced requirement can apply.
Further Reading
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- | You can view the APHA Guidance ‘Identification Marking of Fishery Products imported into the EU’ by clicking here. |
