Export Health Certificates

(asked on 19th February 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that products of animal or plant origin receive the correct certification in a timely manner from (a) vets, or (b) The Animal and Plant Health Authority to prevent unnecessary delays in exporting.


Answered by
Victoria Prentis Portrait
Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
This question was answered on 1st March 2021

Export Health Certificates (EHC) for products of animal origin are authorised by Official Veterinarians (OVs) acting on behalf of the Competent Authority; the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). Certificates are generated through the Export Health Certificates online service, managed by APHA. Phytosanitary certificates for plants and plant products are authorised by APHA inspectors.

Prior to the end of the transition period, APHA stress tested its services in order to prepare for an increase in demand of animal and plants products. As a result, mitigations, including the recruitment of additional Plant Health and Seeds Inspectors, were put in place to ensure there was sufficient capacity to accommodate an expected increase in phytosanitary certification. In addition, APHA officials facilitated an increase in EHC certification through targeted training of OVs and the creation of a Certifying Support Officer function to support OVs.

APHA regular monitors all its activities related to transition and looks to improve its services provided to exporters and other stakeholders continually.

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