Import composite products to Great Britain
Source: gov.uk (2025-04-16)

Check the definition of composite products and understand the import rules and restrictions, depending on the ingredients in your food product.

When you import any food that contains products of animal origin (POAO) such as meat, dairy or eggs, you must follow the guidance for importing animal products for human consumption (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/import-or-move-food-and-drink-from-the-eu-and-northern-ireland-to-great-britain).

This additional guidance applies to composite products from EU and non-EU countries. This guidance explains which composite products are exempt from import controls and what documents you need for your specific product.

Composite product definition

Composite products are food products for human consumption that contain both:
- processed products of animal origin (POAO)
- plant products
Processed products

A processed product is one that has been significantly altered from its raw state. Examples of processing include heating, smoking, curing, maturing, drying, marinating and extracting. A product that contains any unprocessed animal products (such as raw meat) is not a composite product.

Examples

Examples of composite products include:
- lasagne (with processed meat and dairy products, plus tomatoes and wheat)
- pork pies (with processed meat and dairy, plus wheat)
- pepperoni pizza (with processed meat, plus tomatoes and wheat)
- cream liqueurs (with processed dairy products, plus whiskey derived from plants)
- chicken burritos (with processed meat and dairy, plus wheat, tomatoes and peppers)
When plants are not an integral ingredient

If plants are only included to add flavour, texture or decoration (or used to process the animal products), they are not considered integral and it is not a composite product. In this case follow:
- compound product guidance (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/import-compound-products-from-the-eu-to-great-britain) if the product contains 2 or more POAOs
- general POAO guidance (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/import-or-move-food-and-drink-from-the-eu-and-northern-ireland-to-great-britain) if the product contains just one POAO
Examples of plants elements that are not considered to be integral include:
- fruit in yogurt (adds flavour)
- herbs in cheese (adds flavour)
- oil in tinned tuna (used for processing the animal product)
If you’re not sure if your product is a compound or composite product, contact the border control point (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/animals-animal-products-and-hrfnao-imports-authorised-border-control-posts-in-the-uk) where your goods will enter Great Britain for confirmation.

Check if your import is permitted

Certain animal products in composite products must come from:
- a country approved to export to Great Britain
- an establishment approved to export to Great Britain
This depends on the quantity of each ingredient of animal origin in your product.

Read more in the import information note for composite products (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/composite-products-for-human-consumption-import-information-notes/import-of-composite-products-for-human-consumption-iin-cp1).

Documents required

Imports that are exempt from import controls

Composite products that are exempt from import controls must travel with a commercial document from the exporter. See the ‘Products exempt from import controls’ section to find out which products this applies to.

The commercial document or product labelling must be in English and must include:
- the nature, quantity and number of packages of the composite products
- the country of origin
- the manufacturer
- a list of ingredients
Low risk imports

Composite products are low risk if they are from:
- any EU country
- a non-EU country, if shelf stable at ambient temperature and sterilised
Low risk imports must travel with a commercial document from the exporter.

Medium risk imports

Composite products from non-EU countries that are not shelf stable at ambient temperature and sterilised are medium risk.

If they contain meat, milk, eggs or fish, they need a composite product health certificate.

If they contain any other ingredients of animal origin, you need a specific health certificate for each of these ingredient (examples include honey, gelatine or collagen).

Find more information on these documents in the guidance on importing products of animal origin (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/import-or-move-food-and-drink-from-the-eu-and-northern-ireland-to-great-britain).

Products that contain fish

You may need a catch certificate and processing statement or storage document if your product contains fish.

Find out more in the guidance on importing fish (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/importing-or-moving-fish-to-the-uk).

Products exempt from import controls

Some composite products are exempt from import controls. This means:
- you don’t need to notify the authorities through IPAFFS
- the products can enter Great Britain through any point of entry
- the only document required is a commercial document from the exporter
Products are exempt if they are all of the following:
- shelf-stable at ambient temperature or have undergone complete cooking or heat treatment during manufacture so that any raw product is denatured
- made without processed meat, meat extracts or powders
- made with less than 50% of any other processed POAO (any dairy must come from an approved country and have had the correct heat treatment for that country)
- securely packaged or sealed in clean containers
- labelled for human consumption
Examples of exempt products are:
- confectionery (including sweets) and chocolate that is heat-treated and contains less than 50% processed dairy and egg products
- pasta and noodles not mixed or filled with a processed meat product, that have been heat-treated and contain less than 50% processed dairy and egg products
- bread, cakes, biscuits, waffles, wafers, rusks, toasted bread and similar toasted products that are heat-treated and contain less than 20% processed dairy and egg products
- olives stuffed with fish
- soup stocks and flavourings packaged for the final consumer that are heat-treated and contain less than 50% fish oils, fish powders or fish extracts
- food supplements packaged for the final consumer that contain less than 20% in total of processed animal products (including glucosamine, chondroitin or chitosan) other than meat products
See the list of exempt composite products in Annex 2 of the import information note for composite products (IIN - CP/1) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/composite-products-for-human-consumption-import-information-notes/import-of-composite-products-for-human-consumption-iin-cp1).

When to submit an import notification

If your composite product is exempt from import controls you do not need to submit an import notification on IPAFFS.

For all other composite products, you need to submit an import notification on IPAFFS at least one working day before the import is expected to arrive.

Read more IPAFFS guidance in the general guidance for importing animal products for human consumption (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/import-or-move-food-and-drink-from-the-eu-and-northern-ireland-to-great-britain).