The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) are significantly changing the certification of organic food and feed imports into Great Britain. DEFRA has announced immediate changes to the Certificate of Inspection (COI) template for organic food and feed imports into the United Kingdom, as well as a delay to the requirement for COIs for organic foods from the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
Certificate of Inspection template amendment – from 1 September 2023
One of the fundamental changes is an update to the Certificate of Inspection (COI) template for organic food and feed imports, explicitly relating to box 2, which outlines the organics regulations. The update explains which box should be ticked depending on whether the third country is equivalent to GB or if they meet EU regulations.
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. However, to avoid delays, importers should inform the ports before these consignments arrive. Currently, an interim system is in place to manage these exports, but an electronic system is being developed to replace it in the future.
EU Organic Certificates: Customs requirement deferred until 1 February 2025
DEFRA is postponing the requirement for COIs for organic foods from the EU, EEA and Switzerland until 1 February 2025, providing more time to enhance current processes.
It’s important to note that although the COI mandate has not yet been enforced for organic products imported from the EU, all products are still subject to the regulations outlined in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). This means that products must be produced or processed within the European Union to be accepted in Great Britain and vice versa.
For inquiries regarding more information on importing organic food or any other customs information you need, please get in touch with our Kukla Customs Division at customs.uk@kukla-spedition.com, who will be able to help you.
