Food imported into Europe from other countries is strictly controlled. Controls are particularly strict for any animal based food - meat, fish, milk, eggs or food which contains any of these. The outbreak of foot and mouth disease in cattle in 2001 may have been started by illegally imported food – food brought into the country undeclared and without the proper checks.

We recommend you follow the points below but cannot guarantee that you will always avoid illegal food – sometimes it is made to look like legal food.

Leicester City Council’s Environmental Health Officers look for and will deal with any illegal food. Such food will be taken from its owners voluntarily or using legal powers, and owners may have to pay for any legal costs and costs of disposal of food.


Buying

1. When you are buying animal based food look carefully at the packaging. Labels should state:

the name of the food in English (in the case of fish in Latin as well as English)
the country of origin
the number of the factory in which it was produced (the factory number generally has EC or EEC or CE or EU or UE before it or sometimes the first letter of the country of origin)

2. Try to buy food which is ready for you to sell – food you do not have to divide or repack and which has labels with the three things above on each item.

3. Ask to see a veterinary certificate for each animal based food (meat, fish, milk, eggs food which contains any of these) you buy from an importer. If you buy from a person who is not the importer they will not have these certificates.

4. If an animal based food does not have these three things it may not be imported illegally. You should not buy it and should inform someone in Leicester City Council’s Food Safety Team about it. Telephone 0116 252 7000 in confidence. You may also use this number for advice on imported food or other food safety matters.


Selling

1. Keep all labels on outer packaging and all invoices, receipts, delivery notes and other documents at least as long as you have the food. You may need these to be able to prove the food is legal.

2. Avoid buying food without labels on each item. Put a label on each item with the three things from the outer label if you do buy unmarked items.


Who to contact

If you suspect that some food that you have for sale or have seen for sale elsewhere may be illegally imported please contact us for further advice.