The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has updated its restrictions on imports for personal use.
On 12th April, Defra released an update to the rules for bringing meat or dairy products into the UK for personal use.
Following the cases of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Germany, Hungary and Slovakia this year, updated Defra rules mean that meat and dairy products from certain animals, including cows, sheep, pigs and goats, must not be brought into Great Britain for personal use if they come from the EU, EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), the Faroe Islands and Greenland.
“A welcome announcement”
The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) has welcomed the announcement. In a statement, it comments: “AIMS has urged the Government to impose a ban on personal imports for meat and dairy products for a considerable time. We welcome this announcement, which will help to defend our borders from imported diseases such as FMD and ASF that posed such a threat to British farming, food processing and the wider economy.”
“The Government now needs to ensure that travellers are made aware at the point of embarkation.”
AIMS
The statement continues: “The Government now needs to ensure that travellers, especially those holidaying in Europe this summer, are made aware at the point of embarkation, that they are not permitted to bring in meat and dairy products to Great Britain.”
