Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) recognises the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein as equivalent for the purpose of trade in organics until 31 December 2023.
Food and feed certified as organic in the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein will continue to be accepted as organic in Great Britain until 31 December 2023.
The EU has recognised the UK for the purpose of exporting organic products to the EU until 31 December 2023.
Food and feed certified as organic in Great Britain will continue to be accepted as organic in the EU until 31 December 2023.
Importing organic food from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland to Great Britain
Organic products imported from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland to Great Britain will not require a certificate of inspection (COI) until 1 July 2022.
From 1 July 2022, organic products imported from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland to Great Britain will require a COI. You’ll use the interim manual GB organic import system.
To request the forms for the manual GB organic import system, contact your organic control body.
Moving organic food from Northern Ireland to Great Britain
There is no change to the movement of organic goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.
You do not need a COI if you’re moving goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.
Importing organic food from non-EU countries to Great Britain
All organic goods imported from non-EU countries must have a valid GB COI.
You’ll need to use an interim manual GB organic import system to import organic food and feed into Great Britain.
To request the forms for the manual UK organic import system, contact your organic control body.
Certifying organic food in countries outside the UK for export to Great Britain
Control bodies and control authorities can apply for recognition in countries outside the UK for export to Great Britain.
Applying for recognition means that a control body or control authority:
See the list of control bodies and control authorities that are recognised in Great Britain as certifying organic food to equivalent EU organic standards.
These control bodies and control authorities must reapply for recognition to certify to an equivalent Great Britain organic standard by the end of 2022.
To apply (or reapply) for recognition, you should email [email protected] and provide the following details of the control body or control authority’s:
Defra will email you a secure link to a folder and application form.
You’ll need to:
Defra will continue to work directly with you until your application has been accepted or declined.
Exporting organic food from Great Britain to the EU
All organic goods exported to the EU must have a valid COI using the EU’s Trade Control and Expert System New Technology (TRACES NT).
Contact your control body to:
Moving organic food from Great Britain to Northern Ireland
Under the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol, EU Organic Regulations apply in Northern Ireland.
The movement of organic goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland must be accompanied by a valid COI using the EU’s TRACES NT. You do not need to pay for a COI as these costs are covered by the Movement Assistance Scheme.
There’s an arrangement in place which allows traders such as supermarkets and their suppliers to move some goods without the need for official certification.
For those traders who are now authorised, the NI Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) have issued guidance on the requirements for goods movements.
Read DAERA’s guidance on organic food and feed in Northern Ireland.
Contact your control body to:
Exporting organic food from the UK to non-EU countries
Some non-EU countries may require an export certificate for each consignment. You should check with the country you’re exporting to.
Some food and feed that’s certified as organic in Great Britain is also recognised as organic in the following countries:
Check with your control body:
Importing or exporting organic food between Northern Ireland and the EU
There are no changes to imports or exports of organic food between Northern Ireland and the EU. Trade in organics should continue as before.
Read DAERA’s guidance on organic food and feed in Northern Ireland.
Importing or exporting organic food between Northern Ireland and non-EU countries
You must use TRACES NT and have an EU COI to import organic food from a non-EU country to Northern Ireland.
If the goods you have exported from Great Britain to the EU are rejected by the EU due to incorrect paperwork or failure to meet their organic goods standards, the Border Control Post (BCP) will:
You’ll need to notify a Port Health Authority (PHA) or your Local Authority (LA) before your goods arrive back in Great Britain.
You’ll also need to ask the PHA or LA to check the exporting documents including:
Selling or marketing returned goods in Great Britain
If you want to sell or market your goods as ‘organic’ in Great Britain, you’ll need to complete a returned organic goods application form.
The PHA or LA will need to check your application against the original export documents to ensure that the goods listed on the application match those that were originally exported. The PHA and LA will also check that there’s no reason for these goods not to be sold or marketed in Great Britain as organic.
If you need help
Contact your organic control body if you have any queries.
This content was originally published here.
