SPS Controls UK: Understanding the Risk Categories in the UK Border TOM
- Arne Mielken
- Dec 28, 2023
- 2 min read
Which SPS food products have low, medium or high risk and need lower or higher levels of control and certification under the UK Border Target Operating Model (TOM)? See our guide.
I Risk Category under the final UK Border Target Operating Model (TOM)
Live animals, genetically modified foods, goods derived from animals, and animal by-products as well as live plants and plant products will be classed as high, medium, or low risk.
There will be a corresponding amount of control over each group.
Risk-based controls under the final UK Border Target Operating Model (TOM)
The classification is based on the intrinsic danger that the product presents to animal health, food safety and biosecurity, and public health, as well as the hazards particular to the place of origin, such as the frequency of pests and illnesses and the quality of government health regulations. This implies that although a commodity may come from one nation and fall into the low-risk group, it may come from a different country and fall into the medium-risk category.
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A dynamic procedure
Risk categorization is a dynamic procedure that draws on the most recent data and considers changes in disease status; nevertheless, for the majority of commodities, it is not anticipated that the original risk categorization will alter.
Businesses will benefit from stability and won't need to make as many operational adjustments as a result. Trading partners will get formal notice when risk categorization changes.
In the case of Trusted Trader schemes, this framework may also be supplemented by evaluating importer compliance (see the Trusted Trader section). Emerging intelligence and other risk factors will also guide the categorization process.
II Overview of risk categorization as per the final UK Border Target Operating Model (TOM)
III More about HIGH, MEDIUM and LOW risk
Depending on how risky the items are, controls will be enforced proportionally:
HIGH-RISK GOODS
Prenotification required
Health certifications required
Documentation checks
Identification checks
Physical border inspections
The import of consignments classified as high-risk concerns mostly live animals, infectious items, and commodities subject to safeguard procedures
Live animals are often subject to complete identification and physical tests. There are few exclusions from the need for 100% animal inspections. These include reduced check rates for certain zoological specimens and some live aquatic animals, as well as some high-health equines (such as racehorses) from low-risk nations.
MEDIUM RISK GOODS
Consignments with a medium risk classification for importation will be subject to risk-based border identification and physical inspections, pre-notification, simplified health certifications, and documentation checks.
Others will be much higher depending on particular dangers, although some will be set at 1% physical and identification checks.
For medium-risk shipments, a Trusted Trader programme will be tested.
LOW-RISK GOODS
Routine border checks for consignments classified as low-risk will not be enforced heavily.
No physical border inspections or health certifications would be necessary, but there would be a framework for intelligence-based action on low-risk items.
For all low-risk animal products, the provision of pre-notification data collection and commercial documents will be necessary. Low-risk goods would still need to arrive via a port with a Border Control Post specifically for such goods.
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