‘Unprecedented’ volumes of illegal meat seized at Port of Dover
Vast quantities of illegally imported meat are being seized by Dover Port Health Authority (DPHA) at the Port of Dover, with the authority fearing this could be just the ‘tip of the iceberg’.
The revelation comes against the backdrop of growing industry concerns over repeated delays in introducing official import controls on EU products of animal origin (POAO), with checks at ports not due to start until April 30, 2024.
In an article for the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health’s EHN magazine, Beverley Edmondson, Port Health Manager at Dover District Council and Port Health Authority, provided a revealing update, in the absence of these checks, on the port’s progress in implementing rules introduced in September 2022 to protect the UK pig herd from African swine fever (ASF).
The rules make it illegal for travellers to bring pork products weighing over 2kg into the country from the EU and European Free Trade Agreement state sunless produced to EU commercial standards.
It is estimated 90% of this illicit trade enters the UK at Dover, and Ms Edmondson told Pig World that, working closely with Border Force, DPHA staff have seized more than 57 tonnes of illegal meat since the order came in, despite ‘limited resource’. This includes 5.5 tonnes of illegal meat seized over the weekend before Christmas, alone.
“Some of this was for personal consumption but, based on its presentation, it was predominantly destined for commercial use, which is extremely alarming. Although this is a significant quantity of illegal POAO, concerningly it is barely the tip of the iceberg,” she said.
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