Export Health Certification

Export Health Certificates (EHC) Online is a web-based system for the application, certification and issuing of EHCs from Great Britain and it is compulsory to employ this online process to apply for all EHCs that are available on it.

E&J export specialists worked closely on the set-up of the service, undertaking much of the testing and guidance that established functionality and are well placed to advise on all aspects of its usage.

Each user company must register as an exporter, which will require a Government Gateway account. The first person to enrol becomes the company admin, who can then invite other users to sign up too. You can also enrol for all other DEFRA services that support your operation, e.g. import.

With E&J both an enrolled certifier and an authorised user of the exporter application system, we can provide expert support to anyone who needs assistance.

• Meat: red and white including offal and game; frozen, chilled and processed products; mechanically separated meat (porcine); meat products (cooked, cured meats e.g., bacon, ham, gammon), Meat Preparation (e.g. raw sausages), Composite Products (food containing both products of plant origin and processed products of animal origin e.g. pizza, beef lasagne)
• Dairy: milk from cows, sheep, goats and buffalos and all products that derive from it, including baby food and formula.  Among others are butter, yoghurts, cheeses, single and double cream, condensed and dried milk, ice creams, kefirs, sour creams, and dips.

• Fish: fresh and frozen fish products, molluscs, fish oils, rose, fish meals, fish glues, fertilisers, and animal foods.

• Eggs: table eggs and egg products such as breaded and battered food, cream pies and fillings, waffles, crepes, custards, puddings, ice creams, eggrolls, and eggnog.

• Hides and skins: Fresh or chilled; certain treated hides and skins; raw or treated hides and skins for the production of gelatine and collagen for human consumption etc.

• Pet food: animal by products for the production of pet food, raw or processed pet food, dry or canned pet food, including fish bait.  Among animal ingredients are beef, lamb, chicken, and fish – as well as animal parts/by-products: bones, tissues and organs.
• Miscellaneous: all other animal products and by-products of animal origin for which exceptions do not apply, including germplasm; semen, ova and embryos; chicken feed; bovine hooves; gelatine; antlers; and bones.

There are 160 types of Export Health Certificates for EU (97 for animal products including food) and more than 1,500 worldwide, each with different requirements.  Our experts remove the stress, providing the quickest, most attentive and supportive certification services for the nation’s exporters to all territories, as well as UK importers.

1. Details of the Consignment

This section usually includes the consignor (exporter) and consignee (importer) name and address, the country of origin and destination, the place of despatch, loading and destination, the date of departure, the border control post (BCP) details, the means of transport and the transport requirements (chilled, frozen, ambient), the seal and container no, the shipping marks and import permit no for certain countries, description of the consignment (e.g., CN codes, slaughterhouse/manufacturing plant/cold store details/approval no, treatment types) etc.

2. Health Information

The Export Health Certificates contain various public health, animal health and in some cases animal welfare attestations depending on the commodity exported and the requirements of the imported country. Among those often requested are confirmation of heat treatment and freedom from contamination and certain diseases. There may also be a need to provide production records or written confirmation from the manufacturer or OV at the abattoir or processing plant.

Step 1: find out what certificate(s) you need. List the product(s) you wish to send to which country(ies). Talk to us to establish which certificates must be obtained and how we can help you.

Step 2: initial contact. Our professional team assesses whether your intended export consignment is possible in a phone or email consultation. We then advise what requirements must be complied with.

Step 3: we work with regulatory agencies and complete documentation. E&J guides you through all regulatory requirements and documentation. We support all liaison with APHA (Animal & Plant Health Agency), FSA (Food Standards Agency) and relevant local authorities. Certification issues are managed, traceability requirements met, documentation problems resolved and product checks implemented to meet your unique demands.

Step 4: we guide you through the Export Health Certificate application. Most EHC applications are done online via the EHCO system. To apply for the certificates, exporters should register via the Government Gateway portal, selecting Eville & Jones (GB) Ltd. as the “certifier” when completing the online application. For some countries and certain animal products (e.g. red meat to Hong Kong or poultry and red meat to Canada) EHC applications are done via the TRACES system instead. Our technical department will happily guide you through the application process required for all your products.  Meanwhile, our Official Veterinarians are approved to export to any country, even to those which require some additional authorisations (e.g. China).

Step 5: our visit, inspection and documentation. An E&J vet visits your site at your convenience to inspect the goods. They will check your product, labelling, storage etc, then ensure you to obtain the required documents and assurances. These might include details of country of origin, heat treatment and processing.

Step 6: our certification. We check Export Health Certificate and accompanying documents thoroughly before signing and stamping. The original is sent to you so you can export your product, while we also file a copy with APHA (Animal & Plant Health Agency) and retain another for our own files.

E&J provides customers with cost-effective, high quality solutions for all their certification needs. We are able to be extremely competitive as our staff are locally based, wherever your export operation is in England and Wales.

With our agile team quickly deployed when and where our customers need export vets, all are dedicated to providing the top-class personal service and flexibility they require.  This allows us to tailor a pricing strategy that entirely suits your business’ individual needs.

Whether you want a one-off certification or a long-term, ongoing relationship, we guarantee to beat all our competitors on responsiveness, service delivery and performance, thus maximising value for money.

E&J provides exporters to the EU with a free EHC preparedness check, which explains the new requirements and your new responsibilities in simple terms – and how we can support you.

If you have any questions for our EHC specialists, please get in touch and our Export team will answer your queries and concerns.

For further information about the many different EHCs that exist, go to: https://www.gov.uk/export-health-certificates

Further information on EHCO can be found at: http://apha.defra.gov.uk/official-vets/Guidance/exports/ehc-online.htm