Exporting GM food and animal feed products after 31 December 2020

31 January 2020

 

Guidance on what you need to do to prepare for the rules and processes that will apply from 1 January 2021. This guidance is aimed specifically at UK businesses:

  • holding or seeking authorisations for genetically modified (GM) food or feed
  • holding or seeking authorisations for animal feed additives
  • exporting animal feed products to the EU
  • that have applications to update the list of feed for particular nutritional purposes (PARNUTS) pending on 31 December 2020
  • that represent companies that are based in non-EU countries which rely on UK representation for EU trade

Overview

Your business will need to be established in the EU or European Economic Area (EEA), or have a representative that is established in the EU or EEA if you wish to trade in the EU. The EEA includes Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The role of the representative is to provide assurance that the non-EU establishment complies with EU legislation. The following guidance explains what you need to do.

Appointing a representative

When appointing a representative, your UK businesses should ensure that the potential representative is based in one of the 27 EU countries, or an EEA country, and that they are able to provide the necessary assurance to act as such. When appointed, the representative needs to submit a request to the appropriate competent authority in the EU country or EEA state in which they are based. You should obtain confirmation that they have done so and, finally, that the competent authority has informed the European Commission.

UK businesses holding EU authorisations for GM food or feed, or for animal feed additives

If you are holding EU authorisations for GM food or feed, or for animal feed additives, you will need to designate a representative established in the EU or EEA. You will need to provide details of the representative to the European Commission. This could be a branch of your business which is established in the EU or EEA or another business. Changes to holder-specific authorisations for GM food or feed, or for feed additives, require amendments to EU legislation which would need to be in place by 31 December 2020. Businesses in the process of such changes need to approach the European Commission as soon as possible.

UK exporters of feed products to the EU

Exporters of feed products to the EU will require representation in the EU or EEA. As a guide only, current UK procedures on becoming a representative are available on the Food Standards Agency (FSA) website. EU countries will each have their own systems for this and businesses should consult with the relevant competent authority in the EU country for further advice on gaining recognition for their representative. The requirement for non-EU country representation would apply to all feed products exported to the EU.

The requirement for non-EU country representation would apply to all feed products. This follows the European Commission’s announcement of a revised interpretation of Regulation (EC) 183/2005, Article 24. The FSA is currently seeking clarity on this interpretation, but companies should nevertheless anticipate this revised interpretation and consider designating a representative within the EU or the EEA.

Third country representatives

Exporters of feed products to the EU will require representation in the EU or EEA.

We are aware that some member states have specific national rules on the requirements of having a representative for importing feed into the EU. For example, they may require registration of all feed importers, including those from non-EU establishments that have a representative in another member state. Businesses should therefore consult with the relevant competent authority in the individual member state(s) that they wish to export to, to ensure that they are compliant with any national rules and for further advice on gaining recognition for their representative.

Further details of competent authorities in member states can be found via the Commission’s website or through the ‘control systems’ tab of the country profiles for each member state, on this Commission page.

You could also seek clarification with your third country representative who could approach the relevant competent authority in the member state.

 

Kindly supplied by GOV.UK

 

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