Large volumes of illegally imported meat discovered at Dover Port
A 24-hour operation at Dover port has uncovered large amounts of raw animal products, including from countries with African swine fever (ASF) in their pig herds.
The checks were carried out by the Dover Port Health Authority, following the move by the Government to clamp down on the movement of pork products into the country. From September 1, it has been illegal to bring pork or pork products weighing over 2kg into the country unless they are produced to the EU’s commercial standards.
As part of efforts to police this, Operation Ouzo, a multi-agency exercise to check the adequacy of existing controls at the border, took place at the port from Saturday lunchtime to Sunday lunchtime at the start of October.
Inspectors searched 22 vehicles of Romanian, Moldovan, Ukrainian and Polish origin, Dover MP Natalie Elphicke told a House of Commons debate on Dover’s border controls last week.
They discovered raw animal products loosely stored in carrier bags and paper tissue without temperature control, refrigeration or labelled identification, and mixed with ready-to-eat products such as cheese, crisps and cake, according to the 20-page operational report.
In one case, raw, unlabelled and loosely-wrapped pork was found at the bottom of a taped-up wheelie bin, which was filled with other products intended for free circulation within the UK.
“We need to remember that it is not 22 vehicles a day entering the UK at Dover. There are up to 10,000 vehicle movements across the channel each day,” Ms Elphicke said.
by Alistair Driver / Pig World
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