Import eggs to Great Britain

Importing and moving eggs from the EU and Northern Ireland to Great Britain

You can only import or move eggs to Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) from:

• from approved EU countries
• approved non-EUand countries
• Northern Ireland

Ireland. The eggs must meet egg marketing standards.

FindYou outshould thetell countriesyour approvedlocal toAnimal exportand toPlant GreatHealth BritainAgency (APHA) egg marketing inspector before you import a consignment of eggs. To find your local inspector contact: CSCOneHealthEggMarketing@apha.gov.uk.

Importing eggs from the EU during a bird flu outbreak

You cannot import eggs into Great Britain from bird flu disease control zones in the EU.

EggMarking markingeggs from EU countries

If you’re importing eggs from the EU to Great BritainBritain, (England, Scotland and Wales), you must make sure that exporters correctly mark the eggs being imported.

Exporters in the EU must mark Class A eggs with the producer code.

Exporters in the EU must mark Class B eggs with either:

• the producer code and the Class B indication
• the Class B indication

Class B indications must be either:

• a circle of at least 12mm in diameter around the letter ‘B’ and at least 5mm high
• an easily visible colour spot of at least 5mm in diameter

Eggs imported from EU countries must also be marked clearly and legibly in the country of origin with its ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) 3166 country code.

Where the EU country’s reference in the producer code is identical to the country’s ISO code, there is no need to add a separate ISO code as well.

Completing a health certificate

By December 2023, exporters in the EU will need to complete a health certificate for egg exports to Great Britain. They will need to include either Class A or Class B in box I.18 of the health certificate.

Read the guidance on completing a health certificate to export animals and animal products to Great Britain.

Importing eggs from non-EU countries to Great Britain

You can only import eggs to Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) from approved non-EU countries.countries.

FindTo outmarket eggs in Great Britain, the countriesnon-EU approvedcountry tomust exporthave equivalent egg marketing standards to Great Britain.Britain.

UntilNo 31non-EU Decembercountries 2023currently ifhave youequivalence importof egg marketing standards with Great Britain.

Applying for equivalence of egg marketing standards

Only the non-EU country’s government or appointed national competent authority can apply for equivalence of egg marketing standards. To start the process they must email: ukassurance@defra.gov.uk.

Marking eggs from non-EU countries

Until that31 areDecember assessed2023 asif notyou meeting domesticimport eggeggs tradefrom regulations younon-EU countries you must mark them with either:

• ‘non-EC standard’
• ‘non-UK standard’

From 1 January 2024, you should mark these eggs as ‘non-UK standard’.

Health certificate for non-EU countries

ContactExporters pigseggsandpoultryteam@defra.gov.ukin non-EU countries need to complete a health certificate for egg exports to Great Britain. They will need to include either Class A or Class B in box I.18 of the health certificate.

Read beforethe youguidance planon completing a health certificate to importexport eggsanimals fromand non-EUanimal countries.products to Great Britain.

Get help

Contact pigseggsandpoultryteam@defra.gov.uk if you have any queries.queries about importing eggs from non-EU countries. You’ll get a response within 5 working days.