Border Notifications

The data for Border Notifications (BNs) relates to imports that have failed food safety checks at the GB border. Such failures are recorded on the Border Notifications Dashboard (BN Dashboard), a module built within IPAFFS (Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System). This data is submitted by the Port Health Authority (PHA) and informs the FSA of imported consignments that may pose public health risks in GB.

The data published is a summary of the information collected through the BN system. This includes when the BN was raised by the PHA on IPAFFS; the Country the consignment originates from; product details and hazard category as listed by the PHA; whether the commodity is controlled by legislation; type of consignment; and type of failure. The reason for failure is summarised by the FSA and where information is not available it is denoted by NA.

Checks on food at the point of import are in place to control the risks to human and animal health. The PHA carry out checks on food and feed consignments on a risk basis, in order to:

• ensure that only products that are safe to eat are placed on the GB market
• safeguard animal and public health
• check compliance with GB legislation

PHAs are responsible for monitoring and safety of imported food, however Importers are responsible to ensure products are safe and meet GB food safety requirements.

Although checks may be carried out on any imported food consignment from third countries, the actual checks carried out are determined on a risk basis. For products that have been declared as high-risk, special health controls are in place and imports must be pre notified on IPAFFS to the relevant Border Control Post were the consignment enters GB. In addition, some high-risk products must be accompanied with specific documentation and export health certification to demonstrate import conditions have been met. There are three levels of checks carried out by PHAs, these are:

• documentary check, the export health certificate and any accompanying laboratory test results are checked for authenticity and referenced with the details of the commercial documents to ensure that they relate to the consignment
• identity check involves the inspection of the consignment to ensure that the goods match the information on the certification, labelling and health marking
• physical check of the goods involves the inspection of the product to ensure that it is safe to eat and to ensure it is the same product as certified - where appropriate, it will also involve organoleptic assessment and samples taken for laboratory analysis

While the FSA provides guidance on what to sample through the National Monitoring Plan (NMP), its implementation is directed by PHAs and this can lead to variations in sampling patterns and in the triggering of Border Notifications.