Trade with feed with countries outside and in the EU

You must carry out sampling for aflatoxin and salmonella for certain materials, for example soy meal, soybeans, rapeseed meal, corn gluten meal and compound feeds for food producing animals.

If you import compound feeds for beef cattle, reindeer, pigs or poultry from another EU Member State, you must be able to show documentation for every consignment to confirm that you have sampled for salmonella. You must take at least 80 samples that will be combined in tens into a total of 8 analysis samples for consignments up to 100 tonnes.

If you import compound feeds from another country, you must be able to show documentation for each consignment that you have sampled for aflatoxin.

There are special rules that you must comply with when you import feed from EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland.

All feed establishments must be registered and also approved for a particular kind of feed

All feed establishments in the EU must be registered. Check whether the EU establishment that you are intending to receive feed from is on the EU list of registered or approved establishments.

• The EU list of registered feed establishments

Feed containing animal components

In the case of feed that wholly or partly consists of animal components, for example, by-products from slaughter, fish meal, meat meal or untreated pet feed (“fresh feed”), there are additional rules when you bring them in from another EU Member State. Further information is available about the applicable rules on the page Trading with products from animals in countries outside and in the EU.

• Trade with products from animals with countries outside and inside the EU
• The EU list of registered establishments for animal by-products

Commercial document for feed with animal biproducts or products manufactured in the EU

If you bring in feed which consists wholly of animal by-products or products such as by-products from slaughter, meat or fishmeal, from EU Member States, a standardised commercial document shall be sent with the transport to the recipient. Feed containing these products may need commercial documents as well. The recipient of the feed is responsible for the document accompanying the consignment of feed. You can find more information about the commercial document on the page Issuing commercial documents and keeping registers.

• Handling commercial documents and keeping registers – in Swedish
• Rules for collection, transport and traceability – in Swedish Pdf, 266.3 kB.
• Transport animal bi-products and products made of these products – in Swedish

Feed and additives must comply with EU requirements

If you import feed from countries outside the EU, it must comply with the EU feed safety requirements as regards

contagious and undesirable substances such as salmonella, dioxin, mould and environmental toxins

• GMO (genetically modified organisms).

If you import additives, compounds or feed containing additives, you must ensure that the additives have been approved in compliance with EU requirements.

• The EU register of approved feed additives (ec.europa.eu)

You are responsible for the feed complying with the EU requirements.

As importer of feed from countries outside the EU, you bear the ultimate responsibility for it being safe and having been produced in compliance with EU requirements.

To ensure that the business that you purchase the feed from has produced it in compliance with EU requirements, you should ensure that:

• that they are producing feed in compliance with the EU feed hygiene rules
• that the additives included in the feed have been approved in the EU
• that the labelling is in compliance with EU labelling rules.

If the labelling is in any other language, you must translate it into Swedish before placing the feed in the Swedish market.

Vegetable materials

Further checks are required if you import certain vegetable materials, for example, peanuts, from countries outside the EU. The Swedish Board of Agriculture’s border veterinarian will take samples of the materials for aflatoxin before they are permitted to enter Sweden.

The materials that are to be sampled in connection with import can be found in the EU regulation on import control of vegetable materials. There is a list of the material that must be sampled prior to being imported in the Regulation’s annexes. It is important that you, as feed importer, keep yourself updated as to which materials and countries are subject to sampling at the time of import. Please note as well that it is always you as importer of materials that is responsible for them being sampled and that they are safe before being imported to Sweden.

• The EU Regulation (EU) No. 2019/1793 on temporary increase of official controls and emergency measures governing the entry into the Union of certain goods from certain third countries implementing Regulations (EU) 2017/625 and (EC) No 178/2002 (eur-lex.europa.eu)

Specially designated border control posts

Please note that you can only bring in these materials to Sweden at specially designated border control posts. These are ports in Gothenburg and Helsingborg as well as airports at Arlanda and Landvetter. You should notify in advance the border control post that receives the consignment of materials that is to be sampled.

• Import and border controls of animals, animal products and feed

As importer of the materials in question, you must pay for the sampling. The cost may vary according to the size of the consignment.

Feed that contains animal components

Special regulations apply when you import, for example, pet feed that contains animal by-products from countries outside the EU, Norway or Switzerland. Further information about the applicable regulations is available on the page Trading with products from animals with countries outside and in the EU.

• Trade with products from animals with countries outside and inside the EU

Importing roughage to Sweden from countries outside the EU

You can import roughage from Norway but it is prohibited from most other countries outside of the EU. Before you can import hay or straw to Sweden, you should check that the countries that you wish to import from are approved. Hay and straw from these countries shall be inspected in a veterinary border check. It shall also be stated in a declaration that it has been stored for at least two months before the date of import.

If you export feed products to an EU Member State, Norway, Switzerland, Andorra or the Faroe Islands, substantially the same regulations apply as when you sell, send or transport feed products in Sweden. For feed products that require commercial documents, you are, however, required to use the standardised commercial document, which must be in the language of the recipient country. Read more on the pages on transport documents and transport of products from animals.

• Handling commercial documents and keeping registers – in Swedish
• Rules for collection, transport and traceability – in Swedish Pdf, 266.3 kB.
• Transporting animal by-products and products made from these – in Swedish

Use the Traces system

Instead of using the standardised commercial document, you can if you use the Trades data system, download the commercial document from the system. All data shall be included in the print-out. The document shall be signed by you and be sent with the feed products in the original. You and the transporter shall each have a copy. In the case of certain products, it is required that you as sender enter each consignment in Traces.

• Trade with products from animals with countries outside and inside the EU
• E-service: Register transport and trading with animals and animal products in Traces – in Swedish

In order to be able to export feed to a country outside the EU, you must as exporter find out which requirements are applicable in the country you are intending to export to, the “recipient country”. If you are exporting feed to Norway, Switzerland, Andorra and the Faeroes, the same regulations apply as to another EU Member State.

For export of feed with animal content to countries outside the EU, there must often be a health certified issued by an official veterinarian. In the case of vegetable feed, it may be sufficient with “communications”, free sales certificates or certificates that certain diseases are not present in Sweden.

Find out the regulations in the recipient country

Questions that you may need to have answered before export:

• Is it possible to export my product to the recipient country?
• Does the product comply with the legislative requirements in the recipient country, for example, are all ingredients and additives in the feed product approved?
• Do you as exporter have to be registered in the recipient country?
• Do you need to apply for anything special, for example, an import permit?
• Which veterinary certificate or other document is required?

Contact an official veterinarian if the feed contains any material from animals

If you are going to export feed that contains animal components, you must contact an official veterinarian in good time to check whether there is a template for health certificates that applies to the specific product in the country you are going to export to. Read more on the page Trading with products from animals with countries outside the EU.

• Trade with products from animals with countries outside and inside the EU
• Official veterinarians in Sweden – in Swedish

Make an export application if required

If negotiation with the recipient country is required to be able to export a particular product, you must make an export application in our e-service. When the export application has been received, the Swedish Board of Agriculture will take care of negotiations with the country. Please note that it may take a long time before negotiations have been completed.

• E-service: The export application – in Swedish

Find out what rules apply for the transport

It is also important that you find out what regulations and requirements apply to the transport.

• Transporting the feed – in Swedish

Submit a customs declaration

You should always submit an electronic customs declaration to the Swedish Customs before you export feed to countries outside the EU.

• The customs declaration (tullverket.se)