Europe’s largest independent provider of official veterinary inspection services, Eville & Jones, has announced the completion and signing of its 10,000^th export health certificate (EHCs) as the company supports UK businesses with their post Brexit export requirements.

EHCs are the official documents that confirm an export meets the health requirements of the destination country. EHCs became a legal requirement for all businesses exporting livestock or animal products from Great Britain to the EU following the end of the UK’s transition period on 1 January 2021.

Currently employing more than 80 export official veterinarians (EOVs) and with plans to increase this to over 100 in the next 3 months, Eville & Jones is the UK’s largest provider of APHA (Animal & Plant Health Agency) authorised personnel who are required to certify EHCs for food products containing ingredients of animal origin.

Despite the additional challenges presented by the pandemic Eville & Jones has successfully met all customer demands for EHCs.  This has been aided by the Government’s decision to extend the Northern Ireland grace until 1^st October. In doing so it has given retailers valuable time to fully adapt to the new requirements while also helping to address potential issues with the national supply of EOV’s, over 95% of whom hail from the EU.

Commenting on reaching the 10,000 EHC landmark, Eville & Jones’s CEO, Charles Hartwell, said: “We are delighted to have been able to help so many UK businesses to continue exporting to the European Union in a fully compliant, efficient and safe manner.  Our ability to do this is a credit to all our veterinarians and support teams. We warmly welcome the Government’s decision to extend the Northern Ireland grace period which gives the sector time to optimise processes.”