United Kingdom:Fresh Fruit and Vegetable

Inspection and Risk Assessment

Marketing Standards

• To facilitate trade under fair conditions,• To keep products of unsatisfactory quality off

the market,• To guide production to meet consumer demand,• Help maintain the profitability of production.

Crown copyright 2000

0 50 100 km

•London•Hayes

•Exeter

•Chorley

•Newmarket•Coventry

•Leeds

•Tunbridge Wells

HMI Regions

•Cardiff

63 staff in total

Plus 7 in Scotland and 7

in Northern Ireland

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0 50 100 km

Major Ports

Heathrow• •Sheerness & Thamesport•Dover

Southampton•

•Felixstowe

•Portsmouth

•Tilbury

UK Market for fruit and vegetables

• Fruit:• Total trade – 3,704,000 tonnes• UK production – 392,000 tonnes (11%)

• Vegetables:• Total trade – 4,453,000 tonnes• UK production – 2,284,000 tonnes (51%)

Imports through Ports - 2008

Seaports Number Airports Number

Sheerness 13022 Heathrow 102367

Felixstowe 8919 Manchester 1425

Tilbury 10318 Gatwick 357

Thamesport 4797 Stansted 2255

Dover 3439 Birmingham 453

Portsmouth 1316 Luton 23

Liverpool 538

Southampton 657

Bristol 3449

Inland - CFSP 5912

Seaports

Airports

Imports• Peach,• Internet based system,• Notification required for quality and phyto-sanitory

checks,• Around 130000 applications per year, up to 4

consignments per application,• Risk system within Peach picks high risk

consignments.• Automatic Licence Verification clears consignments

without need to print certificates, • Third Country Approved Inspection Services

Imports

Action taken at import - 20094%

9%

82%

3% 2%

Downgrade

Outgrade

Labelling

Downgrade & labelling

Outgrade &labelling

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0 50 100 km

Western International• •New Covent Garden

Southampton•

•Birmingham

•Bristol •Spitalfields

•Gateshead

•Liverpool•Manchester

Cardiff•

•Glasgow

Wholesale Markets

Wholesale Markets

Retail

Around 12000 retail traders

Retail

Training

Training

• Twice yearly “refresher” courses for established inspectors.

• Initial training courses for new inspectors.• Training on request for UK trade and

overseas inspectorates.• International harmonisation meetings.

Other work areas

• Quarantine pests:• Checking at import for:• Monilinia and Alternaria on top and stone fruit• Guignardia, Elsinoe and Xanthomonas on citrus• Fruit flies of genera – Anastrepha, Ceratitis,

Bactrocera, Dacus and Rhagoletis.

Other work areas

• Prosecution:• Last resort; approximately 4 per year.• Problem traders are moved to an “amber”

status with view to improvements.• If no improvement they move to “red”

status and prosecution proceedings.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/