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One of the major public health related responsibilities of the
London Port Health Authority is the control of imported food
cargoes under both United Kingdom and European Union legislation.
The ports of Tilbury and Thamesport (Isle of Grain) have received
approval as Border Inspection Posts (BIP) by the Commission of
the European Union for the importation of meat and other products
of animal origin under the Veterinary Checks Regime.
In September 2004, a new BIP was opened at Thamesport and in
2005 a new BIP at Tilbury providing up to date facilities for the
inspection of all categories of products of animal origin.
Other food cargoes are checked to ensure that they comply with EU
and UK food legislation and are fit for consumption at the time of
importation. Checks are also made to ascertain that the food
complies with the Miscellaneous Additives in Food Regulations, the
Colouring Matter in Food Regulations, and a variety of other
legislation controlling compositional and labelling requirements.
Several hundred samples are drawn annually for microbiological and
chemical checks and cargo is regularly detained pending the receipt
of the results. Rejected cargo is destroyed, re-exported,
reconditioned or used for some purpose other than human
consumption.
The City of London is a signatory to the
Government's Regulators' Compliance Code and all
enforcement decisions are taken with reference to this and to
our own Enforcement Policy to ensure a risk-based, proportionate
and targeted approach.
Business Link has produced useful guides covering aspects of
importing food and products of animal origin. These can be found on
the
international trade section of their
website.
The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) is a system
that shares information about rejected consigments between member
states. The EC has recently launched a new RASFF Portal and non
confidential data on RASFF alerts and notifications can be viewed
by the public. Access to the RASFF Portal can be found on
the RASFF
website.
Download a copy of the Enforcement
Policy (125kb)
LPHA Food Enforcement Service Plan 2012-13 (339kb)
Download the London Port Health Authority
Imported Food Sampling Policy (49kb)