DEFRA ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO ORGANIC FOOD AND FEED IMPORT REQUIREMENTS

DEFRA has announced changes to the Certificate of Inspection (COI) template for organic food and feed imports into Great Britain, as well as a delay to the requirement for COIs from the EU, EEA and Switzerland.

Certificate of Inspection template amendment.

The COI and extract COI templates and notes have been amended, specifically box 2 to remove redundant tick boxes, this new template should be used for imports into GB from 1 September 2023, consignments that have left the country of export before this date will be accepted with the previous COI template.

The two options in box 2 are:

Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007:

Article 33(2) – confirms that the products are imported under Annex III, equivalent third countries.

Article 33(3) – confirms that the products are certified as equivalent to GB Regulations in the third country and are certified by a control body listed on Annex IV.

The boxes that should be checked will depend on whether the import is from a third country listed on Annex III or is certified by a control body appearing on Annex IV as approved to operate in the third country the products originate from.

Delay to the requirement for COIs for organic products from the EU, EEA and Switzerland

The decision has been taken to delay the requirement for COIs for organic products from the EU, EEA and Switzerland until 1 February 2025 to allow more time to explore what potential improvements might be implemented to the existing processes.

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) stipulates that products must be produced or processed in the European Union to be accepted in Great Britain and vice versa. Although the requirement for Certificates of Inspection (COIs) has not been implemented for organic products imported from the EU, products must still adhere to the rules of the TCA. This has been included in guidance since we left the EU.

If you have any questions on the information above please contact: Organic.Imports@defra.gov.uk.