13. FSA and FSS assessment of the issues raised by stakeholders
Food Production Standards
12.1 Significant differences exist between UK and Indian standards, particularly in areas such as domestic food production and pesticide use. Some of these relate to broader production practices not specifically linked to food safety and under the remit of the TAC advice. Others directly impact food safety and were raised in responses to our Call for Evidence. Some of these are actively addressed through robust UK border controls, which reject consignments that fail to meet our high safety standards. We continue to monitor these issues closely. Maintaining strong co-ordination and adequate resourcing across departments responsible for border and inland controls is essential to uphold consumer confidence and ensure that only food meeting UK import safety standards enters the country.
The UK is committed to maintaining high food safety standards and protecting public health. Both the UK and India are members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which establishes rules to promote fair and international trade. The SPS Agreement has measures which explicitly allow member states to adopt stricter food safety and public health provisions than their trading partners, provided they are scientifically justified, non-discriminatory, and proportionate to the risk. This means that the UK has autonomy to set international food safety standards as they fall into those rules.
Alongside the WTO, the UK has a comprehensive legal framework that ensures trade deals do not compromise food safety or public health on imported food. This includes a number of UK laws such as, the Food Safety Act 1990, Food Hygiene Regulations England 2013, the Contaminants in Food , additionally retained EU- laws for example Regulation (EC) 178/2002 and Regulation (EC) 2073/2005 ensure that imported food meets the same food safety standards as food produced in the UK.
The FSA and FSS play a key role in ensuring decisions on food safety, including which new products can enter the country are based on science and evidence. Imported food controls are set following an assessment of risk, and new food products of animal origin from any country, (including those we have a bilateral or multilateral agreement with), must submit a market access request. This request must be accompanied by evidence that the food is produced in line with UK requirements, and the FSA and FSS will conduct robust risk assessments and audit of that country to verify the evidence in conjunction with the UK Office.
Regardless of FTAs, all imports to the UK must continue to meet our food safety requirements, and UK official controls at the border. This includes not only the safety of the food or feed product itself, but also the allergen and nutrition labelling. To meet UK standards, all labelling must be in English and all 14 regulated allergens must be emphasised. If it does not meet UK food standards, Local Authority may decide to re-label a product to comply with UK requirements or raise as a food incident which may result in rejection of the consignment.
Existing statutory protections, such as the right to regulate for levels of protection appropriate to UK consumers based on science and evidence, and the right to take proportionate action on a provisional basis to protect consumers, will play a crucial role in addressing issues around compliance related to production standards in foods imported from India. FSA and FSS will continue to provide science and evidence-based advice to ministers, taking into account consumers’ wider interests in relation to food so that they can have confidence that food is safe and what it says it is.
In addition to official controls carried out by UK authorities, many UK retailers, distributors and food businesses apply their own third-party assurance schemes. These include independent audits of suppliers and production sites, which provide an additional layer of safeguard and help ensure that imported food meets UK standards. While these schemes are not statutory, they play a valuable role in maintaining consumer confidence and complement the UK’s regulatory framework.
12.2 Dairy and Eggs
Dairy products are not imported into the UK from India as India does not have an approved veterinary residue plan (AVRP) for dairy, which is a requirement under UK legislation to ensure food safety and animal health standards. As a result, any dairy products or foods containing dairy ingredients originating from India would be considered non-compliant and subject to detention at the border by local authorities[1][2].
[1] VMD Guidance: Residues Surveillance
[2] Defra Guidance: Submit a residue control plan for exports to Great Britain
This restriction applies broadly to all items falling under the dairy category, including composite products that contain dairy and dried milk.
In contrast, India does have an AVRP for eggs, so egg-related imports are not subject to the same restrictions. Egg imports must comply with UK hygiene standards, and import conditions are closely monitored through a system of pre-arrival notifications, health certification, and checks at Border Control Posts. Medium-risk consignments must be declared via IPAFFS (the UK’s IT platform for Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed Systems) before arrival, accompanied by a valid health certificate from the exporting country's authority, and are subject to documentary, identity, and physical inspections upon entry. Considerations related to animal welfare fall outside of the scope of the FSS and FSA advice and are under the remit of the Trade and Agriculture Commission.
12.3 Pesticides
The FSA and FSS works to also make sure that food not of animal origin imported from India and other countries is safe to eat and does not contain harmful levels of pesticides, by monitoring food at the border and introducing additional controls where required. The UK has strict legal limits on how much pesticide residue can be left on foods, known as Maximum Residues Levels (MRLs). These are set at international level in the Codex Alimentarius, but the UK often has more stringent standards than other countries which India exports must adhere to.
All imports to GB must meet our MRLs, even where an exporting country’s own limits are higher. The MRLs are enforced through Official controls and routine surveillance monitoring at the border, including sampling and testing in accredited laboratories, which are designed to pick up on non-compliances. FSS and the FSA are also part of a national monitoring programme where samples of both UK and imported foods are tested for pesticides, veterinary medicines residues and other hazards.
If unsafe levels are detected through these monitoring activities, the products can be stopped at the border, recalled from shops, or subject to tighter controls in the future in case of repeated non-compliances. This system of monitoring and evidence-based action allows FSS and the FSA to apply additional controls where they are needed and generate further intelligence to inform future review. For example, since December 2024 more stringent controls have been put in place on some products from India using Assimilated Regulation 2019/1793, following the process set out in section 4 of this report, and a new review is expected to enter into force in the new year.
Based on its level of risk assessed by FSS and the FSA all rice from India is considered High Risk Food Not of Animal Origin and has a rate of physical and identity checks of 5% under this regulation. Samples are monitored regularly, and FSS and the FSA review these rates of checks regularly in line with the risk level. In case of repeated non-compliances and high risk to the public, the UK Government can impose emergency measures.
These safeguards are designed to protect the public and ensure that the food consumed by people in the UK is safe and what it says it is.
In relation to specific concerns raised by PAN on the SPS Chapter of the CETA, the ability to recognise equivalence between two SPS measures or set of measures is entirely dependent on the maintenance of appropriate levels of protection as set out by the importing country. This would include meeting UK standards on MRLs for countries wanting to export goods to GB and apply for recognition of equivalence. A country can have a lower MRL for their domestic market however if they want to export to GB they must meet our MRLs.