importing food / drink

[loltolhurst]

Hi,

I want to import a herb ( no not that! ) that is not readily available in the uk that I think would sell well as a tea etc. It is for sale in other countries. How do I find out if it ok to sell / import it? is there a list of approved food/drink etc do I have to apply for some sort of permit?

any help appreciated.

Thanks

[muppetdave]

I may be wrong, but something is niggling me that DEFRA have a list in place, logic also says HMRC may have something too.

[Goughie]

DEFRA and/or the FSA are your first ports of call. You need to be aware that importing from so called "third countries", i.e. those outside the EU or those without specific bilateral food import/export agreements can be tricky if your supplier does not meet EU food production regulations and has not been accredited against these same standards.
If the herb is not recognised as a foodstuff in the UK it's also going to be expensive and time consuming to arrange product micro testing and benchmarking.

[1]

DEFRA first then MHRA then ACNFP and if you get the o.k from all of them then the FSA.

New regulation that came into effect in 2004 has changed the way most herbs can be sold or marketed.

We have just been through a similar process ourselves and it has been a learning curve to say the least!

PM me if you would like any more specific advice.

[loltolhurst]

thanks chaps