By NEL’s port health team prepares for new trading rules
North East Lincolnshire’s port health team has been working with their colleagues in Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands to discuss preparations for the new trading rules that are about to be put into effect due to Brexit.
The new rules primarily focus on imports from the EU into the UK and any other countries that meet the EU’s SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) standards.
The rules apply to all imports from 1 October 2021 and 1 January 2022.
The regulations follow the new phased introduction of the UK’s Border Operating Model which began at the beginning of this year.
Importers of certain foods, feed and other products (which includes the seafood importers from the countries mentioned above) must provide documentation and may be subjected to risk-based checks (to verify hygiene and safety stanards) before their products can be allowed into the country.
Officers and seafood representatives have been meeting online to discuss these measures.
They also met with the UK’s new ambassador to Iceland, Dr Bryony Mathew.
The meetings were reportedly aided by DEFRA and the Grimsby Seafood Cluster.
Commercial Regulatory Manager Neil Beeken said that, alongside the training they have undergone for the new systems, they have “also worked with a local business to create an Export Logistics Hub – a facility in which smaller consignments/loads can be collected from around the UK and consolidated in one location, enabling small to medium-sized enterprises to continue exporting by sharing the costs with others.”
Mr Beeken added: “A significant proportion of fish supplies from those countries are imported to the UK via Immingham and we will be implementing import controls at the new Border Control Post for Grimsby and Immingham ports, so building these relationships now will be crucial.”
Cllr Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for Safer and Stronger Communities at NELC, said: “We want to make the process as simple as possible for those that move food products through our area.”
He added: “Our Port Health Team play an essential role in the fish trade, the industry that Great Grimsby is internationally known for, making sure that we do all we can to keep businesses importing and exporting food and other products safely through our ports.
“Their ultimate role is to protect public, animal and environmental health on a local, national and international level by regulating imports and exports of food and feed.”
