People travelling from Eastern Europe asked to help prevent risk of African swine fever reaching Great Britain

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) are urging people travelling from Eastern Europe to limit the amount of pork products they are bringing into Great Britain. The campaign which aims to help prevent the spread of African swine fever (ASF) launches ahead of Easter holiday travel when there could be increased desire to bring back pork products from Eastern European destinations where the disease is present.

Pork is known to carry the ASF virus which has killed millions of pigs worldwide and is currently present in Eastern Europe. Therefore, Defra and APHA are highlighting the legal limits of pork products that EU travellers are allowed to bring into the country to help decrease the likelihood of introducing ASF into Great Britain. While it’s commonplace for ex-pats to enjoy bringing unique foods back from their homeland, the current limit for EU travellers is 2kg* of pork products and people travelling from non-EU countries are not allowed to bring any amount of pork items into Great Britain.

Although the virus poses no threat to human health, an outbreak of ASF in the UK would have a devastating impact on our pork and pig industries. It would severely affect pig health and welfare and the UK’s ability to trade pigs and pork products. To reduce the risk of spreading ASF, protect the environment and the livelihoods of those working in Britain’s food and farming businesses, the government are urging any leftover food waste and packaging that is brought over to be disposed of in a secure bin where wildlife can’t access it.

Lizzie Wilson, chief executive of the National Pig Association comments: “We know there are many unique foods that people may not be able to buy in Great Britain and may want to bring back when travelling from another country. However, we’re now at a crucial time in doing everything possible to prevent African swine fever from entering Great Britain. It’s important people travelling to and from Great Britain abide by the rules to help protect the health and welfare of the pig herd in this country as well as the livelihoods of people working in food and farming jobs. Therefore we’re asking travellers to avoid bringing pork products back especially when travelling from areas affected by African swine fever”.

Gabriel Sandor, Director of Construction at RO BUILDING added: “As any ex-pat knows, it’s part of normal life to bring some of your traditional home comfort foods back with you when you travel. We love receiving those delicious food gifts from family and friends and bringing them back to celebrate those culinary tastes that you may not be able to buy in shops here. However, with the ongoing spread of African swine fever, it’s important to follow the rules for pork products to stop the spread of the disease and to avoid any food being confiscated and wasted!”