The rules setting out personal pork imports are being questioned, as African Swine Fever is causing issues.

Defra has confirmed that personal imports of pork and pork products from the EEA (European Economic Area), the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Switzerland are now banned.

However, products manufactured and packaged to EU commercial standards and weigh less than a maximum of 2kg are still allowed.

Defra said the measures had been tightened to safeguard the UK’s pig and farming industries against the threat of diseases like African swine fever (ASF).

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Previous measures introduced in September 2022 banned the import of pork and pork products not produced to EU commercial standards that weighed more than 2kg.

But they still allowed individuals to bring in up to 2kg of pork products that did not need to meet any EU commercial standards.

These new rules go further, banning all pork and pork products that that cannot be visibly shown to be produced to EU commercial standards. They also limit imports that are produced to these standards to 2kg.

Those found to bring pork or pork products illegally may be fined up to £5,000 in England. Products will be seized and destroyed on arrival, Defra said.

While the National Pig Association (NPA) said it welcomed efforts to tighten up the rules, total ban on personal imports was needed in order to make the rules easier to understand and enforce.

A number of other countries, including Australia, Japan, the EU, New Zealand and the US, already do not permit personal imports of pork and pork products.

NPA chief executive Lizzie Wilson said: “Removing the allowance for imports of up to 2kg of pork products not produced to commercial standards is a step forward.

"Introducing an additional 2kg limit for pork that has been produced to commercial standards is also an improvement, as no limit existed previously.

“However, we called for a total ban on personal imports to make the rules easier to understand and enforce, so we would have liked to have seen today’s announcement go further.

“We are concerned that, as drafted, there will still be some confusion over exactly what the rules require and they will still be very difficult to enforce."

The NPA also stressed that these changes did not address the real issue of concern, which was the vast quantities of illegally imported pork entering the country in vans and other vehicles by via organised criminals.