Import controls make intended use the decisive risk variable
The United Kingdom has updated its National Monitoring Plan for imported products of animal origin for April 2026 to March 2027. Its relevance to the meat sector lies in the precision with which it links species, product type, hazard and analytical method. This is not a generic import-control programme: sampling is concentrated where the combination of matrix, intended use and risk calls for closer evidence.
Cultivated meat reaches the dossier stage where product identity matters
The agenda of the UK Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes for 16 and 17 September places two cultivated-meat dossiers at a specific point in the novel-food assessment process. The committee will review, for the first time, the full application for Mosa Meat’s cell-cultured bovine fat biomass; the following day it will consider a response relating to a cell-cultivated duck dossier. The publication does not announce any authorisations. It records a scientific-review step within the UK procedure.
Dominican market reopening shows that offal access depends on audit-ready systems
The Dominican Republic has again approved imports of Canadian beef and beef products, including offal from cattle of all ages. According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, this is the first reopening since 2003, when the market closed after Canada’s initial BSE case. Three Canadian processing establishments have initially been approved for export.
British export growth underlines the value of market-specific carcass utilisation
British red-meat exports reached a value of £1.1 billion in the first half of 2026, up 15% year on year. Volume rose by 8% to almost 293,000 tonnes. HMRC figures released by AHDB show growth in all three main categories: beef exports increased in value by 23% to £450 million, sheep meat by 15% to £401 million, and pig meat by 5% to £267 million.
Animal-husbandry labelling needs import rules that can be verified at shelf level
The German Meat Industry Association (VDF) is calling for another postponement of the mandatory application of the Animal Husbandry Labelling Act (THKG), currently scheduled for 1 January 2027. The sector alliance’s statement responds to detailed comments from the European Commission on the German government’s notified amendment proposal. According to VDF, the standstill period ends on 12 November 2026; until then, the draft legislation cannot be adopted.
