Following its December 2025 implementation dialogue, the European Commission announced stronger oversight of imported food and feed during 2026 and 2027. The programme includes 50% more audits of non-EU countries, 33% more audits of EU Border Control Posts and closer monitoring of commodities and origins associated with non-compliance.
Those percentages describe increases in audit activity; they do not mean that every individual consignment will receive 50% or 33% more checks. EU import controls remain risk-based and proportionate. For buyers, the commercial implication is that weak links between certificates, labels, seals, lots and origin records are more likely to create avoidable questions.
What is being strengthened
The Commission’s 2026–2027 programme increases audits of the official control systems in non-EU countries and of the Border Control Posts where relevant consignments enter the Union. It also provides for closer monitoring of non-compliant commodities and countries, additional support for Member States and training for national control staff.
A dedicated EU task force launched on 26 January 2026 is intended to improve coordination and consistency, with particular attention to pesticide residues, food and feed safety and animal welfare. The programme may also support coordinated monitoring of selected imported products.
An audit of a country, competent authority or border post is different from a consignment check. Buyers should therefore avoid turning the headline percentages into unsupported predictions about the treatment of a particular shipment.
Three checks must tell the same story
Relevant consignments entering through a designated Border Control Post may be subject to documentary, identity and physical checks. Each examines a different part of the control chain.
A correct certificate cannot by itself resolve a different lot number on the label or an unexplained seal discrepancy. The shipment pack, physical consignment and transport identity need to remain aligned from dispatch to border presentation.
- Documentary checks examine official certificates and accompanying records.
- Identity checks compare the goods, labels, seals and means of transport with those records.
- Physical checks examine the goods directly and can include sampling and laboratory testing.
Risk determines the control intensity
Goods of animal origin and certain high-risk food and feed of non-animal origin are controlled under the EU official-controls framework. The applicable frequency and type of checks depend on the commodity, origin, known hazards and compliance history.
For targeted food and feed of non-animal origin, the Commission can increase controls where evidence indicates a potential human- or animal-health risk. Evidence can include RASFF notifications, border rejections, audit findings and EFSA assessments. The targeted list under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1793 is reviewed at least every six months.
Serious or repeated infringements can lead to intensified controls across Border Control Posts for the same product category, establishment and type of infringement. This makes the compliance record of an origin commercially relevant beyond one isolated shipment.
TRACES connects the official record
Regulated products of animal origin may enter only from authorised countries and eligible establishments under the applicable rules. Certain consignments also require official certification and advance notification before they reach the border.
TRACES supports the exchange and recording of official information for animals, products of animal origin and other regulated goods. Border decisions recorded in the system help authorities trace an affected consignment and respond when a safety or compliance issue is identified.
Commercial teams do not replace the competent authority’s work in TRACES. They can make it easier by confirming that the exporting country, establishment, product description, certificate, transport reference, lot and destination all describe the same movement.
Build the border file before loading
The correct import conditions depend on the product, origin, establishment, intended use, destination and current safeguard or increased-control measures. A previous successful shipment should not be treated as proof that the next one has identical requirements.
If a consignment does not comply, the competent authority may refuse entry and order re-dispatch, destruction, special treatment or another appropriate measure. No private document checklist can guarantee clearance, but an early review can prevent many ordinary inconsistencies.
- Confirm product identity, intended use and applicable import pathway.
- Verify country and establishment eligibility where required.
- Check certificate and pre-notification requirements before dispatch.
- Match lot, quantity, label, vehicle or container and seal references.
- Review current increased-control and emergency-measure lists.
- Assign responsibility for border queries, corrections and contingency costs.