United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) – Export requirements for fish and seafood

Notice

Export requirements for Northern Ireland are different from those of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). Distinct requirements are as follows:

On this page United Kingdom (UK) also includes Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

On this page

1. Eligible/ineligible product

From 30 April 2024, some fish products will no longer require a sanitary certificate. In order to import live animals or animal products from non-EU countries into Great Britain, you'll need to:

UK export certificates for fish and seafood refer to a list of Harmonized System (HS) code(s) which cover the types of aquatic animals and their products which can be certified using the certificates identified in this document. It is the responsibility of the exporter to ensure that the product being exported will be covered by the certificates issued by the CFIA. The list of HS codes includes: 0301, 0302, 0303, 0304, 0305, 0306, 0307, 0308, 0511, 1504, 1516, 1518, 1603, 1604, 1605 and 2106.

Eligible

  • All fish and seafood products

2. Pre-export approvals by competent authority of importing country

Establishments

  • Establishments must appear on the appropriate establishment list administered by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The establishments must fulfill the relevant provisions of the following legislation and associated legislation for Animal Products:
    • Retained Regulation 625/2019
    • Retained Regulation 853/2004 – Article 6 & Annex III
  • The list pertinent to fish and seafood is available on the United Kingdom website for establishments approved to export animals and animal products to Great Britain. Under Data links, please select "List of establishments in non-EU countries approved to export animal products to GB". Please sort by:
    • Country name "CA_Canada"
    • Sector "food"
    • Section "Section VII Live bivalve molluscs" and/or "Section VIII Fishery products"
  • Cold storage warehouses storing and handling fish and seafood products as part of the supply chain for export to the Great Britain are also required to be on the appropriate list for Great Britain.

Note: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has added the letter "F" as a suffix to the registration number of certain registered fish processing establishments appearing on the list of Canadian exporters approved for Great Britain. This was necessary because these fish processing establishments shared the same registration number with other Canadian establishments appearing on lists of establishments approved to export other commodities, such as dairy products, to the Great Britain. This suffix was added only for the purpose of maintaining the list. Exporters can maintain their label as is and do not need to add the "F" to the information recorded on the certificate.

Procedure to update the Great Britain approval lists

  • Establishments wishing to be added to the Great Britain approval list must be in compliance with Canadian regulations.
  • Cold storage warehouses are subject to Preventive control plan (PCP) requirements.
  • To request inclusion on the Great Britain approval list, please submit the following information to your local CFIA office:
    • unique establishment identifier
    • Safe Food for Canadians licence number
    • full legal name as it appears on the Safe Food for Canadians licence
    • physical site address associated with the unique establishment identifier
    • applicable establishment type(s):
      • PP – Processing Plant (fishery Pproducts)
      • FV – Factory Vessel (fishery products)
      • ZV – Freezer Vessel (fishery products)
      • RV – Reefer Vessel (fishery products)
      • CS – Cold Storage (fishery products)
      • IP – Dispatch Centre (live bivalve molluscs)
      • Z – Production Areas (live bivalve molluscs)
    • if the products to be exported include any aquacultured material (except bivalve molluscs), a remark of "Aq" must be indicated
    • establishments processing bivalve molluscs should indicate a remark of "BM"
    • name of the Great Britain approval list(s) you are requesting inclusion on

Note: All additions, amendments and deletions will be forwarded to Great Britain for approval. If an establishment currently included on any Great Britain approval list undergoes a name or address change, the documentation and labelling must identify the old information, as recorded on the Great Britain approval list, until such time as the list is officially amended.

3. Product specifications

The UK has retained direct EU legislation as defined in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. For the requirements, please refer to the "Product specifications" section on the EU fish and seafood Export requirements library page.

4. Production controls and inspection requirements

The UK has retained direct EU legislation as defined in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. For the requirements, please refer to the "Production controls and inspection requirements" section on the EU fish and seafood Export requirements library page.

5. Labelling, packaging and marking requirements

The UK has retained direct EU legislation as defined in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. For the requirements, please refer to the "Labelling, packaging and marking requirements" section on the EU fish and seafood Export requirements library page.

6. Documentation requirements

Canadian exporters should ensure that their products are accompanied by the proper documentation prior to being exported from Canada to the UK if transshipped via another country, including via the EU.

Certificate

The attestations on the certificates contain references to Great Britain (GB) requirements. References to GB requirements refer to the requirement(s) of Great Britain as set out in the accompanying notes (Part III of the certificate template) for completion.

The UK has retained direct EU legislation as defined in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The UK has published instructions on how to complete the certificate.

  1. For fishery products intended for human consumption:

    Official Certificate for the Placing on the Market of Fishery Products (FP) GBHC401 v1.1 Aug-23 (CFIA/ACIA FA1033)

    • The CFIA/ACIA FA1033 is a Joint Certificate containing both Food Safety/Public Health AND Aquatic Animal Health attestations
    • When Aquatic Animal Health attestations apply, please consult your CFIA inspector for further instructions at the time of the certificate request submission

  2. For live bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods intended for human consumption:

    Health Certificate for Live Bivalves, Echinoderms, Tunicates and Marine Gastropods (LBM) GBHC400 v1.1 Aug-23 (CFIA/ACIA FA1034)

    • The CFIA/ACIA FA1034 is a Joint Certificate containing both Food Safety/Public Health AND Aquatic Animal Health attestations
    • When Aquatic Animal Health attestations apply, please consult your CFIA inspector for further instructions at the time of the certificate request submission

7. Other information

Exported products transiting through a country may require transit documentation. It is the responsibility of the exporter to ensure that the shipment will be accompanied by all necessary certificates. Please work closely with your importer.

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