Export Health Certificates
From January 2021, an Export Health Certificate (EHC) may be required by food manufacturers/exporters who wish to export food to the EU.
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) are the UK Central Competent Authority for international trade in food and drink.
The Animal Plant Health Agency (APHA) are responsible for approving export health certificate (EHC) applications. This also depends on the destination, importing country and commodity.
For more information, email APHA at exports@apha.gov.uk or call 03000 200 301.
When you look for which EHC you need, you will also find out about any supporting documents required.
However in some cases, there will not be a relevant EHC template. Where this occurs, the Council can assist you with producing a bespoke EHC.
It is the responsibility of the exporting business to find out what the import requirements are in the destination country. This is information that is needed before applying for an EHC.
Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Council can issue and sign export certification for certain types of food and beverages, such as:
- food not of animal origin
- composite products (processed products of animal origin that have been combined with products not of animal origin)
- manufactured food and drinks
We are unable to supply health certificates for Products of Animal Origin which require a veterinary signature.
Export certificates issues by the Council confirm that the food has been produced in a food premise(s) that has been inspected by the Local Authority (LA). The LA ensures compliance with the requirements of the relevant food hygiene legislation
We reserve the right to decline to issue a certificate if:
- your premise(s) is not registered with us
- hygiene standards and/or practices fail to meet food safety standards
Typically, this is the information required for the application (and displayed on the certificate):
- Manufacturer
- Minimum durability
- Storage conditions
- Approval number
- Consignor
- Consignee
- Destination
- Product
- Quantity
- Country of origin
- Date of production
- Packaging
- Batch number
It is the exporter's responsibility to ensure that the destination country's requirements are met.
For further guidance
In addition to DEFRA’s specific guidance on exports of composite products, they have recently produced a series of webinars.
Watch DEFRA's webinars for exporters of animals and products of animal origin to the EU
For other enquiries, you can email DEFRA at traders@defra.gov.uk.
How to Apply
If you instead need assistance from the Council, please contact us. Please do so after finding out what the requirements of your commodity's destination country are. Make sure to provide us with all the necessary information.
It takes up to 7 days to produce your certificate so allow plenty of time.
Please note any requests for Export Certificates received on Friday will be processed the following week.