Importing organic products from third countries into Great Britain at the end of the transition period
28th October 2020
Guidance details from Defra
THE DETAILS ON THIS PAGE HAVE NOW BEEN UPDATED.
PLEASE GO TO https://ofgorganic.org/news/importing-and-exporting-organic-food
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UPDATED 10 DECEMBER 2020
At the end of the transition period, Great Britain will lose access to TRACES NT for the purpose of importing organic food and feed.
The downloads on this page contain the information and resources importers need to continue to import organic food and feed from third countries into GB from 1 January 2021.
In the zip file that is available for download from this page are:
• GB Certificate of Inspection (CoI) template
• CoI explanatory notes (to be read in conjunction with the CoI)
• Extract of the CoI template
• Extract of the CoI notes
• Step by step guidance for GB
• Importing FAQs
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The most significant changes to importing organic produce relate to:
Box 2 on the CoI: this shows the organics regulations. The explanatory notes explain which box should be ticked depending on whether the third country is equivalent to GB or if they meet EU regulations.
Other important things to note:
Consignments leaving third countries before the end of the transition period will be accepted as long as they have an EU endorsed CoI on TRACES NT.
Importers should notify ports that these consignments are arriving to avoid delays.
An electronic system will be developed to replace this interim system.
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More information from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs -
Guidance: Trading and labelling organic food 1 January 2021
Contents
- Certificates and labels
- Using organic logos
- Importing organic food to GB
- Exporting organic food to the EU
- Exporting organic food to non-EU countries
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All of the above information was published by:
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
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Please contact your certification officer if you have any questions.