Guidance

18 March 2026: Outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Greece

Updated 19 March 2026

OVS note number: 2026/19

Date: 18 March 2026

Purpose

To inform you that, following a recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Greece, safeguard declarations have now been published to restrict imports from Greece of:

• certain animal by-products (ABPs) derived from FMD-susceptible animals (a full list of which is provided in Annex 2)
• untreated wool and hair
• casings derived from FMD-susceptible species
• hay and straw

Background

Greece notified WOAH of an outbreak of FMD on the island of Lesvos, which was confirmed on 16 March 2026 (WAHIS).

OVS note 2026/17 was issued on 16 March 2026 notifying of the suspected outbreak and requesting that commercial imports of susceptible commodities from Greece be held while import restrictions were implemented to mitigate against the threat of FMD.

The UK Office for SPS Trade Assurance amended its country listings on 17 March 2026 to temporarily suspend imports of the following commodities from the whole territory of Greece (see OVS note 2026/18):

• live ruminant and porcine animals (including wild game) – see the live ungulates third country list
• ruminant and porcine germplasm – see the porcine semen, bovine semen, bovine embryos, ovine and caprine embryos, and ovine and caprine semen third country lists
• fresh meat of ruminant and porcine animals (including chilled and frozen) – see the fresh meat of ungulates third country list
• meat products from ruminant and porcine animals (including wild game) that have not been subject to at least treatment D1, D, C or B as defined in Annex 1 see the meat products third country list
• raw and pasteurised milk and raw and pasteurised milk products (including colostrum) – see the milk and milk products third country list

OVS note 2026/18 also requested that consignments of the following commodities from Greece be held while TARP safeguard measures were implemented to temporarily suspend imports of these commodities:

• certain animal by-products of susceptible animals, where the animal by-product originates from Greece (a full list of which is provided in Annex 2)
• untreated wool and hair
• animal casings
• hay and straw

Safeguard declarations have now been published to suspend commercial imports of:

• hay and straw originating in Greece
• certain animal by-products of susceptible animals, where the animal by-product originates from Greece (a full list of which is provided in Annex 2)
• animal casings

The following declarations, published on the ‘Imports, exports and EU trade of animals and animal products: topical issues’ page, give effect to these restrictions.

Animal by-products

• Declaration of special measures: importation of certain products from Greece (England)
• Declaration of special measures: importation of certain products from Greece (Scotland)
• Declaration of special measures: importation of certain products from Greece (Wales)

These safeguard measures apply from 19 March 2026 and will continue to apply until they are revoked or amended.

Imports of untreated wool and hair (see OVS note 2025/05) and casings (see OVS note 2025/06) of FMD-susceptible animals from any countries (or zones within countries) that are not recognised by WOAH as free of FMD have already been suspended through TARP declarations. These declarations have now been updated to suspend imports from Greece.

Untreated wool and hair

• Declaration of special measures: importation of untreated wool and hair from Greece (England)
• Declaration of special measures: importation of untreated wool and hair from Greece (Scotland)
• Declaration of special measures: importation of untreated wool and hair from Greece (Wales)

Animal casings

• Declaration of special measures: importation of animal casings from Greece (England)
• Declaration of special measures: importation of animal casings from Greece (Scotland)
• Declaration of special measures: importation of animal casings from Greece (Wales)

These safeguard measures apply from 19 March 2026 and will continue to apply until they are revoked or amended.

Imports of ABPs that are not restricted through the published safeguard measures, or because of health certificate attestations relating to freedom from FMD or changes to Greece’s country listings (see Annex 2) should be permitted entry if they meet all other import requirements. This includes, but is not limited to, intermediate products, research & diagnostic samples and other commodities covered by general import authorisations and licences here.

Please note that the following two general import authorisations for ABP from EU and EFTA member states have been revoked and replaced as set out below:

• IMP/GEN/2026/01 has been revoked and replaced with a new general import authorisation IMP/GEN/2026/03
• IMP/GEN/2026/02 has been revoked and replaced with a new general import authorisation IMP/GEN/2026/04

These new general import authorisations cannot be used for non-harmonised ABP/derived products or display items originating from Greece that were obtained from any of the following animals: cow, bull, sheep, goat, deer, camel, llama, alpaca, guanaco, vicuna, any other ruminant, any swine (that is, a member of the suborder Suina of the order Artiodactyla), elephant or rodent (other than a pet rodent). Anyone wanting to import these products must now submit an IV58 application to the Centre for International Trade, APHA.

Contact point for enquiries

Email: imports@apha.gov.uk

Imports and EU Trade Team

Annex 1

Meat products intended for human consumption – acceptable risk mitigating treatments (Annex II, Part 4 of Assimilated Decision 2007/777)

B        Treatment in a hermetically sealed container to an Fo value of three or more.

C         A minimum temperature of 80°C which must be reached throughout the meat and/or stomachs, bladders and intestines during the processing of the meat product and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines.

D         A minimum temperature of 70°C which must be reached throughout the meat and/or stomachs, bladders and intestines during the processing of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines, or for raw ham, a treatment consisting of natural fermentation and maturation of not less than nine months and resulting in the following characteristics:

• Aw value of not more than 0.93
• pH value of not more than 6.0

D1      Thorough cooking of meat, previously deboned and defatted, subjected to heating so that an internal temperature of 70°C or greater is maintained for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Treatments D and D1 are sufficient for the imports of meat products using meat from FMD susceptible animals except for products made with pork coming from African Swine Fever (ASF) Restricted Zones III (ASF present in domestic pigs). For those products, the overlapping ASF-related conditions (treatment C) must be complied with as per the list.

Milk and dairy products including colostrum for human consumption – acceptable risk mitigating treatments (Article 4 of Assimilated Regulation 605/2010)

The product must undergo one of the following treatments:

1. (a) a sterilisation process, to achieve an Fo value equal to or greater than three; or
2. (b) an ultra-high temperature (UHT) treatment at not less than 135°C in combination with a suitable holding time; or
3. (c)
   1. (i) a high temperature short time pasteurisation treatment (HTST) at 72°C for 15 seconds applied twice to milk with a pH equal to or greater than 7.0 achieving, where applicable, a negative reaction to an alkaline phosphatase test, applied immediately after the heat treatment; or
   2. (ii) a treatment with an equivalent pasteurisation effect to point (i) achieving, where applicable, a negative reaction to an alkaline phosphatase test, applied immediately after the heat treatment;
4. (d) a HTST treatment of milk with a pH below 7.0; or
5. (e) a HTST treatment combined with another physical treatment by either:
   1. (i)  lowering the pH below 6 for one hour, or
   2. (ii)  additional heating equal to or greater than 72°C, combined with desiccation.

Annex 2: Animal by-product (ABP) restrictions

Imports from Greece of the following animal by-products of susceptible animals are suspended, where the animal by-product originates from Greece:

1. a. Wool and hair, unless it complies with sub-paragraph (c) or (d) in Article 25 (2) of Regulation 142/2011
2. b. Untreated pig bristles (GBHC571)
3. c. Pig bristles (GBHC570), unless boiled for at least one hour
4. d. Treated hides and skins (GBHC541 & GBHC542), except:
   1. i) hides and skins having undergone the complete process of tanning;
   2. ii) wet blue;
   3. iii) pickled pelts;
   4. iv) limed hides which have been treated with lime and in brine at a pH of 12 to 13 for at least eight hours.
5. e. Untreated game trophies and other preparations of ungulates consisting of entire anatomical parts (GBHC543)
6. f. Treated game trophies or other preparations consisting of hides and skins (GBHC544), except those referred to in paragraph (1) of Section 5 of Chapter II of Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011.
7. g. Treated game trophies or other preparations consisting of bone, horns, hooves, claws, antlers or teeth (GBHC544), except those referred to in paragraph (1) of Section 5 of Chapter II of Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011, unless immersed in boiling water for an appropriate time so as to ensure that any matter other than bone, horns, hooves, claws, antlers or teeth is removed, and disinfected with hydrogen peroxide where parts consisting of bone are concerned.
8. h. Rendered fats for use outside the feed chain (GBHC511), unless subjected to one of the processing methods 1 to 5 as referred to in Chapter III of Annex IV to Regulation 142/2011.
9. i. Fat derivatives (GBHC513 and GBHC512) unless subjected to one of the following treatments:
   1. i) transesterification or hydrolysis at least 200°C, under corresponding appropriate pressure, for 20 minutes (glycerol, fatty acids and esters);
   2. ii) hydrogenation at 160°C at 12 bars (12000 hPa) pressure for 20 minutes;
   3. iii) any of the processing methods 1 to 5, as referred to in Chapter III of Annex IV to Regulation 142/2011; or
   4. iv) saponification with NaOH 12M (glycerol and soap) in a—
      1. a. batch process at 95°C for three hours; or
      2. b. continuous process at 140°C, 2 bars (2000 hPa) for eight minutes.
10. j. Milk, milk-based products and milk-derived products not for human consumption (GBHC583)
11. k. Colostrum and colostrum products (GBHC587)
12. l. Bones and bone products, horns and horn products and hooves and hoof products intended for use other than as feed material organic fertilisers or soil improvers, unless accompanied by a commercial document stamped by the Competent Authority supervising the establishment of origin that one of the treatments referred to in points (iii), (iv) or (v) of paragraph 2(d) of Annex XIV, Chapter II, Section 7 of Regulation 142/2011 has been applied.
13. m. Processed manure from FMD-susceptible animals (GBHC550).
14. n. Dog chews (GBHC563) made from untanned hides and skins or from bones of susceptible animals. Other types of dog chew will continue to be permitted if they comply with the treatment requirements in GBHC563.
15. o. Processed petfood (other than canned petfood) unless it has been subjected to one of the treatments referred to in points (i), (ii), (iii) or (v) of paragraph 3(b) of Chapter II in Annex XIII to Regulation 142/2011.
16. p. Blood products for feed material (GBHC500)
17. q. Untreated blood products, excluding from equidae, for the manufacture of derived products for uses outside the feed chain for farmed animals (GBHC502)
18. r. Fresh or chilled hides and skins (GBHC540)
19. s. Raw petfood (GBHC562)
20. t. Flavouring innards for the manufacture of petfood (GBHC564)
21. u. Animal by-products for the manufacture of petfood other than raw petfood (GBHC565)
22. v. Animal by-products for the manufacture of products for uses outside the feed chain for farmed animals (GBHC580)