The U.K. farming industry was devastated by an outbreak of the disease in 2001, with more than 2,000 farms affected and more than 6 million animals slaughtered.
The reports from Hungary follow claims last month that banned German products were being “auto-cleared” to enter the U.K. six days after the ban was put in place, with experts blaming the incident on a failure to update the government’s import notification system, known as IPAFFs.
Giving evidence to the environment, food and rural affairs committee earlier this week, NPA CEO Lizzie Wilson claimed illegal German products were still bypassing the border. Currently, she explained, there is “no mechanism to identify those lorries that have self-declared themselves as low-risk and therefore auto-cleared so they don’t have to be inspected.”
A spokesperson from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has denied the claims. “Restrictions were immediately brought in on animal products from Germany to prevent an outbreak,” they said. “These goods are not permitted to enter the country, any consignment carrying them will not progress through our clearance system and will be stopped at the border.”
According to the latest data from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), the U.K. imported 1,823 tons of fresh and frozen pork, 48 tons of bacon, 722 tons of sausages and 264 tons of processed ham and pork from Hungary in 2024.
That year, the U.K. also imported nine tons of frozen beef, six tons of processed beef and seven tons of beef offal. In terms of dairy products, it imported 1,578 tons of cheese and curd, 13 tons of powdered and condensed milk, 203 tons of whey and whey products and one ton of yoghurt and buttermilk.
