Update to milling eligibility for exports to the EU

Further to our recent update on the eligibility of grinding and milling processes for export into the EU, we have been in contact with DEFRA and supplied evidence and rationale as to why products from some milling/grinding processes should be considered “processed”.

They have now issued an update to a CB paper which helps to clarify what products meet this definition under the scope of the Trade Cooperation Agreement (TCA).

The updated guidance states:

“Products should be assessed on a case-by-case basis to determine if the action taken substantially alters the ingredient/s. For example, simply heating an ingredient slightly might not be enough to substantially alter it, but if the heating makes a substantial alteration – such as pasteurisation – this would count as processing.

Another example is flour, which is considered processed as it is produced by a carefully controlled, transformational, multi-staged process including extraction and recombination, resulting in a substantially altered end product.”

• For milling, grinding and crushing of products, such as herbs and spices, where no transformational processes occur, we can no longer issue COIs.

• We can issue COIs for products, where a process occurs that sustainably alters the product.

If you have any concerns about the eligibility of your products, please contact our Import and Export team at coi@soilassociation.org. Providing as much information as possible about your processes and products will help us determine their eligibility for export.