If you have a food business in Harlow and want to sell your food products abroad, you may need a food health export certificate for the country of destination.
There are different types of certificates depending on the type of food you wish to export:
- products of animal origin
- meat and dairy
- fish
- high risk food of non-animal origin
- food not of animal origin
Products of animal origin
Meat and dairy
Harlow Council are not able to issue export health certificates for most products of animal origin such as meat and dairy.
Products of animal origin will need an export health certificate which is issued by the Animal and Plant Health Agency and signed by an official veterinary surgeon.
You can find guidance on exporting products of animal origin on GOV.UK
Fish
We can issue export health certificates for some fishery products, but the food must be either produced or stored at a registered food business within Harlow.
See our apply section for further information
High risk food of non-animal origin
High risk food of non-animal origin (HRFNAO) is food which presents a risk to human health due to contamination by aflatoxins, pesticides, salmonella or dioxins.
The majority of HRFNAO is imported from countries outside the EU into GB, and then reexported to the EU or moved to Northern Ireland.
You can find guidance on exporting HRFNAO on GOV.UK
We can provide official certification for HRFNAO. If you need certification, see our apply section.
Food not of animal origin
We can issue a food export certificate or food safety premises endorsement for export for products not of animal origin.
We can provide an export certificate to attest that foods not of animal origin are produced according to legislative standards.
This type of certificate attests to the premises and provides basic information around the product consignment. It generally accompanies exports to third countries and exports to the EU and NI. It is your responsibility to ensure that the wording on the certificate will be accepted by the country that you export to.
We cannot include wording on an export certificate that verifies the safety of the individual batch or consignment of food. Our wording normally reflects that:
- your foodstuffs are produced or stored in premises subject to our jurisdiction as a food authority
- the premises have been subject to a satisfactory inspection
Fees
The fees vary for each application, which takes into account:
- the type of certificate required
- the time it takes to inspect documentation and the consignment (if necessary)
- producing the certificate and any amendments needed after issue
The fee for an export certificate is £96.
The fee for attestation is £90.
There is no charge for certification for HRFNAO if this is produced by the company.
An hourly rate of £74 for officer time will also be applied, but we will discuss this during the application process.
There is a minimum charge of £74 regardless of work requested.
Apply
To request a certificate email: foodexports@harlow.gov.uk
We need at least 5 working days notice to process an application.