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Importing milk and milk products
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
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Milk and milk products can be imported provided that they:
- come from an approved country/part of a country
- come from an EU approved establishment
- are accompanied by an agreed animal/public health certificate
The approved third country list for imports for milk and milk products can be found here.
Milk and milk products must be produced in establishments approved to export to the EU.
Member States of the EU authorise the importation of consignments of raw milk, dairy products, colostrum and colostrum-based products from the third countries or parts thereof listed in Regulation (EU) No 605/2010.
Milk and milk products entering the EU must be inspected at an EU-approved Border control Post (BCP). There is a required minimum pre-notification notice period of at least 24 hours’ notice in advance of the consignment’s arrival.
Provided all is in order with the documentary check, the consignment will then be subject to an identity check at the BCP to ensure it identifies with the consignment that was declared in the documentation.
A proportion of consignments will be selected for a full physical inspection with/without sampling as appropriate.
If the consignment does not meet the import requirements, the consignment may be rejected and either re-exported or destroyed.
Annex II of Regulation (EU) No 605/2010 establishes the following models for health certificates:
Model ‘Milk-RM
Health certificate for raw milk from third countries or parts thereof authorised in Column A of Annex I intended for further processing in the European Union before being used for human consumption.
Model ‘Milk-RMP’
Health certificate for dairy products derived from raw milk for human consumption, from third countries or parts thereof authorised in Column A of Annex I intended for importation into the European Union.
Model ‘Milk-HTB’
Health certificate for dairy products derived from milk of cows, ewes, goats and buffaloes for human consumption from third countries or parts thereof authorised in Column B of Annex I intended for importation into the European Union.
Model ‘Milk-HTC’
Health certificate for dairy products for human consumption from third countries or parts thereof authorised in Column C of Annex I intended for importation into the European Union.
Model ‘Colostrum-C/CBP’
Health certificate for colostrum of cows, ewes, goats and buffaloes and colostrum-based products derived from colostrum of the same species from third countries or parts thereof listed in Column A of Annex I for human consumption intended for importation into the European Union.
The certifying veterinarian should ensure that only the relevant paragraphs and, where appropriate, additional guarantees and/or special conditions applicable to the exporting country are included.
