Strikes: food rotting in customs

Hundreds of tonnes of meat, cheese, potatoes and other agricultural products are at imminent risk of rotting as a result of the ongoing vets’ strike, according to the Icelandic Federation of Trade (IFT).

Although it is not a legal requirement to involve a vet, the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (IFVA) has not seen fit to sign off the relevant papers for customs clearance.

IFT members have asked the IFVA to clear imported agricultural products through customs in order to avoid hefty losses.

Agricultural products from the European Economic Area come with health certificates issued by vets in the originating country in accordance with exactly the same rules as apply in Iceland. This means that both the Director-General and Chief Veterinary Officer of IFVA are able to sign off the necessary custom clearance papers and the presence of an Icelandic vet is not necessarily required.

IFVA’a refusal to clear the products in question through customs has been described as “unlawful” by one importer, who has also threatened to sue the IFVA for any financial losses incurred.

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