The Official Controls (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2024

Regulation 10(2) and (5)

SCHEDULE 2 Categories of goods posing a low risk exempted from routine checks at border control posts

Table 1

Animal by-products and derived products

Product	Intended use of the product in Great Britain	Additional conditions and permitted countries
(1) Product is intended to be used as a stabiliser or carrier for any of—
— monoclonal antibodies, polyclonal antibodies, proteins, enzymes, peptides and polypeptides separated from plasma or serum and purified to the extent that they do not contain any viable pathogenic micro-organisms;
— cells which do not contain a pathogen;
— cell cultures which are more than one generation removed from tissue harvested from an animal;
— stem cells derived from animals born and reared exclusively in a laboratory environment; and
— material other than animal by-products or derived products.
(2) The animal by-product used as the stabiliser or carrier—
— is at a concentration of either 3% or less of the entire product, with no limit on the individual unit size, or a percentage greater than 3% but no more than 10% of the entire product, with a maximum individual unit size of 100 ml;
— is intended for laboratory or pharmaceutical use only; and
— is not for any subsequent use other than as a carrier or stabliser.
Apiculture by-products	For use other than in apiculture.	Must meet the requirements in entry 10 of Table 2 (apiculture by-products) in Section 1 of Chapter 2 of Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011.
Collagen	Other than as feed material.	The product must— (a) be derived from animals born, continuously reared and slaughtered in permitted countries where the BSE risk is negligible or controlled; and (b) come from a country which is listed either in the column headed “third countries’ lists” in the appropriate row of Table 1 in Chapter 1, section 1 of Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011, or as referred to in that column.
Dicalcium phosphate	Other than as feed material.	The product must— (a) be derived from animals born, continuously reared and slaughtered in permitted countries where the BSE risk is negligible or controlled; and (b) come from a country which is listed either in the column headed “third countries’ lists” in the appropriate row of Table 1 in section 1 of Chapter 1 of Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011, or as referred to in that column.
Fish oil	Other than as feed material.	The product must come from a country listed— (a) in the column headed “third countries’ lists” in the appropriate row of Table 1 in Chapter 1, section 1 of Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011; or (b) under legislation or lists as referred to in that column.
Gelatine, other than photogelatine	Other than as feed material.	The product must— (a) be derived from animals born, continuously reared and slaughtered in permitted countries where the BSE risk is negligible or controlled; and (b) come from a country which is listed either in the column headed “third countries’ lists” in the appropriate row of Table 1 in Chapter 1, section 1 of Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011, or as referred to in that column.
Highly processed derived products from animal by-products in a category specified in Chapter 1, section 1, Table 1 or in Chapter 2, section 1, Table 2 of Annex 1 to Regulation 142/2011	For use as laboratory reagents and pharmaceutical use, including in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and laboratory reagents.	The product must— (a) meet the specific import requirements which apply under Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011 to the category of animal by-product from which the highly processed product was derived; (b) have undergone processing which ensures that it does not carry any risk of transmission of a disease communicable to humans or animals; and (c) cannot be returned to its original structure or composition.
Hydrolysed protein	Other than as feed material.	The product must— (a) be derived from animals born, continuously reared and slaughtered in permitted countries where the BSE risk is negligible or controlled; and (b) come from a country which— (i) is listed either in the column headed “third countries’ lists” in the appropriate row of Table 1 in Chapter 1, section 1 of Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011, or as referred to in that column; and (ii) is not South Africa, India or Uruguay.
Intermediate products	Use as specified in paragraph 35 of Annex 1 to Regulation 142/2011.	The product must— (a) have undergone processing which ensures that the product carries no risk of transmission of a disease communicable to humans or animals and cannot be returned to its original structure or composition; (b) come from a third country listed as a member of the World Organisation for Animal Health(1); and (c) meet the requirements of Annex 12 to Regulation 142/2011, other than paragraph 3, insofar as it relates to the requirement for checking at a border control post; and paragraph 5.
Treated blood products, other than from equidae	Other than as feed material; for in-vitro use only, for the manufacture of derived products for uses outside the feed chain for farmed animals.	The product— (a) must meet the requirements specified in entry 2 of Table 2, in Section 1 of Chapter 2 of Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011; and (b) must be derived from animals born, continuously reared and slaughtered in permitted countries where the BSE risk is negligible or controlled. (c) must not be blood derived from — (i) bovine or ovine animals in South Africa; (ii) poultry in Canada or the USA; (iii) mixed species in Brazil, Israel, South Africa, Thailand or the USA; or (iv) aquatic species in Israel, South Africa, South Korea, Uruguay or the USA.
Treated feathers, parts of feathers and down	Other than as feed material.	Must meet the requirements in entry 9 of Table 2 (treated feathers) in Section 1 of Chapter 2 of Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011.
Treated milk and milk-based products and treated blood products	For use only as a stabiliser or carrier for materials specified in Note (1).	The animal by-product used as the stabiliser or carrier must meet the conditions specified in Note (2). The product must— (a) for treated milk and milk-based products, meet the requirements specified, in entry 4 of Table 1 in Section 1 of Chapter 1 of Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011; or (b) for treated blood products— (i) in entry 2 of Table 2 in Section 1 of Chapter 2 of Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011; or (ii) in entry 3 of Table 2 in Section 1 of Chapter 2 of Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011 and have been treated in accordance with the requirements in point 2(b)(ii) of Chapter 4 of Annex 13 to Regulation 142/2011. (c) come from a country listed for the relevant category of product in the column headed “Third countries’ lists”— (i) for treated milk and milk-based products, in entry 4 of Table 1 in Section 1 of Chapter 1 of Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011; and (ii) for treated blood products, in entry 2 of Table 2 in Section 1 of Chapter 2 of Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011.

Table 2

Low risk products of animal origin from permitted countries

1. Commodity	2. Conditions for inclusion in low risk category	3. Comments
Apiculture products for human consumption	Low risk for Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, India, New Zealand, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay and Vietnam.	Must come from a country— (a) listed in the Annex to Decision 2011/163; and (b) specified as approved for inclusion in a document published by the Secretary of State in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation 2019/626.
Bovine meat and meat products	Low risk for chilled or fresh meat and meat products from New Zealand. As regards New Zealand and any other permitted country which has a negligible or controlled BSE status: low risk if shelf stable at ambient temperature and sterilised.	Fresh meat and meat products must meet the relevant requirements of Regulation 853/2004. Fresh meat and meat used to make meat products must meet the requirements for fresh meat in Regulation 206/2010 and come from a country listed in Annex 1 to Regulation 206/2010 and specified in a document published by the Secretary of State for the purposes of Article 3a of that Regulation. Bovine meat products must— (a) meet the requirements of, Decision 2007/777; (b) come from a country or part of a country listed in Annex 2 to Decision 2007/777 and specified in a document published by the Secretary of State in accordance with the requirements of Article 3(a) and (b) (for imports) or 5(1)(a) (for goods in transit) of that Decision; (c) meet the relevant requirements in Regulation 999/2001; and (d) not include specified risk material.
Composite products, other than those containing bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates or marine gastropods or their products.	As regards all permitted countries, low risk if shelf stable at ambient temperature and sterilised.	Composite products (other than those otherwise exempted from official controls under Article 6 of Decision 2007/275, or by listing in accordance with Article 3(1)(b) of Decision 2007/275) must— (a) so far as concerns any milk or dairy products they contain, come from a country listed by the Secretary of State in accordance with Article 3 or 4 of Regulation 605/2010(2); (b) so far as concerns any bovine meat or meat products they contain, come from a country with negligible or controlled BSE status.
Dairy products and colostrum-based products which are preserved at frozen or chilled temperatures.	Low risk for Canada and New Zealand only. Products must only contain milk which has been subject to pasteurisation or an equivalent or higher level of treatment (eg UHT processing).	Products must meet the requirements of Regulations 605/2010 and 853/2004 and of any assimilated direct minor legislation or regulations made under those Regulations.
Dairy products and colostrum-based products (other than those preserved at frozen or chilled temperatures).	Low risk for Canada and New Zealand if shelf-stable at ambient temperature. Low risk for all permitted countries if shelf stable at ambient temperature and sterilised.	Goods in this category must— (a) meet the requirements of Article 4 of Regulation 605/2010 and of Regulation 853/2004 and any assimilated direct legislation or regulations made under those Regulations; and (b) come from a country specified in a document published by the Secretary of State in accordance with the requirements of Article 3 of Regulation 605/2010.
Egg products	Low risk for the USA if shelf-stable at ambient temperature.	Goods in this category must meet the requirements of Regulation 798/2008, Regulation 853/2004 and any assimilated direct minor legislation or regulations made under those Regulations.
Fishery products, including crustaceans	Low risk for New Zealand, except for species of the families of Scombridae, Clupeidae, Engraulidae, Corfenidae, Pomatomidae or Scombresosidae (“histamine susceptible species”), except for fishery products from aquaculture. Low risk, with the exception of histamine susceptible species, bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates or marine gastropods, for all permitted countries if shelf stable at ambient temperature and sterilised	Goods in this category must meet the applicable requirements of Regulations 852/2004, 853/2004 and 1251/2008. Country of origin must be listed in Annex 2 of Regulation 2019/626. Must meet the requirements for fishery products in Regulation 2019/628.
Gelatine and collagen	Low risk for bovine products from permitted countries where BSE risk is negligible or controlled. Low risk for non-bovine products from all permitted countries.	Must meet the applicable requirements of Regulations 852/2004, 853/2004 and 2019/628. For gelatine and collagen derived from bovine or ovine animals— (a) must meet the requirements of Regulation 999/2001; and (b) must not include specified risk material.
Highly refined products of animal origin	Low risk for all permitted countries.	Must meet the relevant requirements of Regulation 2019/628 and Regulation 853/2004.
Honey	Low risk for Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, India, New Zealand, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay and Vietnam.	Must come from a country— (a) listed in the Annex to Decision 2011/163; and (b) specified as approved for inclusion in a document published by the Secretary of State in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation 2019/626.
Milk	Low risk for all permitted countries if shelf stable at ambient temperature and sterilised.	Goods in this category must— (a) be authorised by the Secretary of State to be imported into Great Britain from a third country listed in Annex 1 to Regulation 605/2010 and specified in a document in accordance with the requirement of Article 2 of that Regulation; and (b) meet the other requirements of Regulation 605/2010, Regulation 853/2004 and any assimilated direct minor legislation or regulations made under those Regulations.
Ovine, caprine and camelid meat and meat products	Low for fresh meat and meat products from Australia. Low risk for all permitted countries if shelf stable at ambient temperature and sterilised.	Fresh meat or meat products in this category imported from Australia must meet the requirements applicable to fresh meat in Regulation 206/2010. For meat products which are shelf stable at ambient temperature— (a) must come from a country or part of a country listed in Annex 2 to Decisions 2007/777 and specified in a document published by the Secretary of State in accordance with the requirement of Article 3(a) and (b) (for imports) or 5(1)(a) (for goods in transit) of Decision 2007/777(3); (b) for ovine and caprine animals, must meet the requirements of Regulation 999/2001; and (c) must not include specified risk material.
Porcine meat and meat products	Low risk for all permitted countries if shelf stable at ambient temperature and sterilised.	Must meet the requirements of Regulation 853/2004 and Decision 2007/777, and of any applicable assimilated direct minor legislation or regulations made under Regulation 853/2004.
Poultry meat and poultry meat products	Low risk for all permitted countries if shelf stable at ambient temperature and sterilised. Poultry meat products must not originate in China or Thailand.	Must— (a) meet the applicable requirements of Regulations 853/2004, Regulation 798/2008 and Decision 2007/777, and of any applicable assimilated direct minor legislation or regulations made under Regulation 853/2004; and (b) come from a country or territory listed in Annex 1 to Regulation 798/2008 and specified in a document published by the Secretary of State in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation 798/2008.
Rabbit meat, game meat and rabbit and game meat products	Low risk for all permitted countries if shelf stable at ambient temperature and sterilised.	Must meet the requirements of Regulations 853/2004 and Decision 2007/777, and of any applicable assimilated direct minor legislation or regulations made under Regulation 853/2004. Must— (a) come from a country listed in Part 1 of Annex 1 to Regulation 119/2009 and specified in a document published by the Secretary of State for the purposes of Article 3 of Regulation 119/2009; and (b) meet the relevant requirements of Regulation 119/2009.
Rendered animal fat and greaves	Low risk for bovine products from permitted countries where the BSE risk is negligible or controlled. Low risk for non-bovine products from all permitted countries.	Must— (a) meet the requirements of Regulations 852/2004 and 853/2004 and of any applicable assimilated direct minor legislation or regulations made under those instruments; and (b) for products derived from bovine, ovine or caprine animals, meet the relevant requirements in Regulation 999/2001 and not include specified risk material.
Soliped meat and meat products	Low risk for all permitted countries if shelf stable at ambient temperature and sterilised.	Must— (a) meet the requirements of Regulation 853/2004 and any instruments made under that Regulation; (b) for meat products, meet the requirements of Decision 2007/777; (c) come from a country or part of a country listed in Annex 2 to Decision 2007/777; and (d) come from a country or part of a country specified in a document published by the Secretary of State in accordance with the requirements of Articles 3(a) and (b) (for imports) or 5(1)(a) (for goods in transit) of Decision 2007/777.

Table 3

Permitted countries

Country or region
Argentina
Australia
Botswana
Brazil
Canada
Chile
China
Ecuador
India
Israel
Japan
Namibia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
United States
Uruguay
Vietnam

In this Schedule—

“BSE risk status” refers to the risk status(4)—

(a)

mentioned in Article 5(1) of Regulation 999/2001(5); and

(b)

determined by the Secretary of State in accordance with Article 5(7) of, and Annex 2 to, Regulation 999/2001 and published in accordance with Article 5(7B) of that Regulation(6);

“collagen” has the meaning given by—

(a)

in relation to animal by-products, point 11 of Annex 1 to Regulation 142/2011(7); and

(b)

in relation to products of animal origin, point 7.8 of Annex 1 to Regulation 853/2004;

“composite product” has the meaning given by Article 2(a) of Decision 2007/275 concerning lists of composite products to be subject to controls at border control posts;

“egg products” has the meaning given by point 7.3 of Annex 1 to Regulation 853/2004;

“F₀ value” means the thermal lethality time required to eliminate all microorganisms present in foods, by exposing them to a temperature of 121.1^o C, expressed in minutes;

“feed material” means—

(a)

feed material as defined in point 3 of Annex 1 to Regulation 142/2011; and

(b)

petfood;

“fish oil” has the meaning given by point 9 of Annex 1 to Regulation 142/2011;

“fishery products” has the meaning given by point 3.1 of Annex 1 to Regulation 853/2004;

“fresh meat” means fresh meat as defined in point 1.10 of Annex 1 to Regulation 853/2004;

“gelatine” has the meaning given—

(a)

in relation to animal by-products, by point 12 of Annex 1 to Regulation 142/2011; or

(b)

in relation to products of animal origin, by point 7.7 of Annex 1 to Regulation 853/2004;

“greaves” has the meaning given—

(a)

in relation to animal by-products, by point 13 of Annex 1 to Regulation 142/2011; or

(b)

in relation to products of animal origin, by point 7.6 of Annex 1 to Regulation 853/2004;

“highly refined products of animal origin” means—

(a)

chondroitin sulphate;

(b)

hyaluronic acid;

(c)

other hydrolysed cartilage products;

(d)

chitosan;

(e)

glucosamine;

(f)

rennet;

(g)

isinglass; and

(h)

amino acids that are authorised as food additives in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on food additives(8).

“honey” means the natural sweet substance produced by Apis mellifera bees from the nectar of plants or from secretions of living parts of plants or excretions of plant-sucking insects on the living parts of plants, which the bees collect, transform by combining with specific substances of their own, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave in honeycombs to ripen and mature;

“hydrolysed protein” has the meaning given by point 14 of Annex 1 to Regulation 142/2011;

“intermediate product” has the meaning given by point 35 of Annex 1 to Regulation 142/2011, and for the purposes of that definition “derived product” is to be construed in accordance with Article 3.2 of Regulation 1069/2009;

“laboratory reagent” has the meaning given by point 36 of Annex 1 to Regulation 142/2011;

“meat products” has the meaning given by point 7.1 of Annex 1 to Regulation 853/2004;

“permitted countries” means those countries listed in Table 3;

“petfood” has the meaning given by point 19 of Annex 1 to Regulation 142/2011;

“photogelatine” means gelatine which has been produced from material containing bovine vertebral column in accordance with Article 8(b) of Regulation 1069/2009 and which is intended for the photographic industry;

“Regulation 999/2001” means Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies(9);

“Regulation 852/2004” means Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the hygiene of foodstuffs(10);

“specified risk material” means the material referred to in Article 8 of, and listed in Annex 5 to, Regulation 999/2001(11);

“sterilised” in relation to a product, means that the product has been sterilised either by undergoing specific treatment in a hermetically sealed container that achieves an F₀ value of three or more or by undergoing heat treatment, prior to aseptic packaging, that achieves commercial sterilisation;

“treated blood products” means blood products, as defined in point 4 of Annex 1 to Regulation 142/2011, which meet the specific requirements listed for such products in Chapter 2, Section 1 of Annex 14 to that Regulation;

“treated feathers” means feathers or parts of feathers which have been treated with a steam current or by a method that ensures that no risks to human or animal health or to the environment remain.

(1)

A list of members can be found on the website of the World Organisation for Animal Health at Members - WOAH - World Organisation for Animal Health.

(2)

Article 6(2) of Commission Decision 2007/275 refers to the countries listed in Annex 1 of Regulation 605/2010. However, Article 3 of, and Annex 1 to, Regulation 605/2010 were amended by S.I. 2022/735 to require such of those countries or parts of countries listed in Annex 1 from which milk, dairy products, colostrum and colostrum-based products are to be authorised by the appropriate authority for importation to be specified in a document published by the Secretary of State.

(3)

Article 5 of Decision 2007/777 was amended by S.I. 2020/1462 and 2022/735.

(4)

The reference to a country’s BSE status is to the status of a country determined in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation 999/2001 of the European Parliament and the Council, laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Details of each country’s BSE status are included in the document entitled “Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) risk status of trading partners”, published by the Secretary of State on 10th February 2023 in accordance with Article 5(7B) of that Regulation. This document can be found at. bse.pdf (amazonaws.com) and a hard copy of that document may be inspected at DEFRA, Seacole Building, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF.

(5)

EUR 999/2001. Article 5 was amended by S.I. 2019/170 (as amended by S.I. 2020/1388), 2019/588 (as amended by S.I. 2020/1463), 2020/1388 and 2022/735.

(6)

The document referred to in Article 5(7B) is published online and can be found at Animal health status of countries approved to export animals and animal products to Great Britain - data.gov.uk. A hard copy of that document may be inspected at DEFRA, Seacole Building, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF.

(7)

EUR 142/2011. Annex 1 was amended by S.I. 2020/1388.

(8)

EUR 2008/1333, as amended by S.I. 2019/860.

(9)

EUR 999/2001, amended by S.I. 2019/170 (as amended by S.I. 2019/1220 and 2020/1388), 2019/588 (as amended by S.I. 2020/1463), 1220 and 1229, 2020/1388 and1463, 2021/1229, 2022/735, 1090 and 1315.

(10)

EUR 852/2004, amended by S.I. 2019/642 (as amended by S.I. 2020/1504) and 2023/959.

(11)

Article 8 was amended by S.I. 2019/170 (as amended by S.I 2020/1388), 2019/588 (as amended by S.I. 2020/1463) and 2020/1388.