However, as a producer of composite products, it was exempt from Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs of animal origin. Therefore, the requirements for approved premises, including the application of an approval number, did not apply.
Without leaving any trace(s)
The company still does not need a health mark, but for some reason the TRACES system required one for the organization to register.
Although the company could have gone through the laborious process of obtaining a health label to access the system, it seemed like a redundant and costly task just to remedy an oversight.
You would think that a simple phone call or email would be enough to access TRACES, right? Unfortunately, no. The process took 6 months.
Karina Gluszczyk, the company's microbiologist and export manager at Raynor Foods, has been bounced around between government departments, including the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA), in a bid to get a response.
Finally, after several months of back and forth, Gluszczyk discovered that the company was suddenly, somehow, on the system.
I kept checking and then one day, we were there! I still don't know how, she told Food Manufacture.
The company still does not have access to TRACES and, as Gluszczyk explained, it has not been informed how the company gained access to the system or who did so.
Clearly, the lack of confirmation and communication makes her nervous, and to allay those fears, Gluszczyk says she always checks with the EU client to ensure the company is still on the system.
Customers are always puzzled as to why I ask this question, but I just fear that one day we will disappear!
As many have expressed, Raynor Foods is concerned about the increasing costs that new export processes will entail, as well as the risk of goods being held up at ports due to complications, confusion and veterinary shortages.
In conversation with Tom Hollands, the company’s technical and innovation director, he explained that at present, different port authorities appear to have slightly different interpretations of import requirements, which has led to international calls for clarification. At the same time, the divergences between standards in the UK and the EU could lead to further complications, although for now it seems that we are following a similar path in many respects.
We don't want to disappoint any of our customers and we pride ourselves on our 99.99% on-time and in-full delivery service, he said.
Although entry into the European Union has created trade barriers, we are optimistic that these barriers can be removed so that we can trade more freely with the country's largest market.
Left to our own devices
Speaking to another food producer who has been recognised for their excellent export work but who wished to remain anonymous, the spokesperson explained that while they had not encountered this specific problem, the extra work and confusion for customers in Northern Ireland had been a logistical headache.
When I have had problems with exporting in the past, particularly with post-Brexit issues, there has been very little support for me or anyone else and I have even had other suppliers ask me how to navigate some of the paperwork because the information from places like Defra or DBT [Department for Business and Trade] etc., was too general and not specific, said the representative.
More often than not I am redirected to general information on government websites or given generic information that is not specific to my specific question. I think we need to have more dedicated people working in these organizations who are dedicating time to getting concrete answers and helping businesses that are having these issues because there is nothing like it and we are more often than not left to fend for ourselves and try to solve the problems.
A unique copy?
Defra was contacted for comment on the issues surrounding the TRACES system and explained to Food Manufacture that, as it is an EU system, the department's hands are somewhat tied in terms of the help it can offer producers on technical issues.
The Defra spokesperson said it was likely to be a one-off technical issue and reassured that as far as they were aware it was not a widespread problem causing problems for other importers and exporters.
When asked who producers should contact if they encounter problems, they said APHA is the first point of contact for exporters and importers, with the arm of Defra able to help them navigate the systems and operations that the EU is responsible for policing.
Hopefully next time it won't take 6 months.
