Health certificate and labelling requirements for imports of bait from outside the EEA/EU
The Norwegian Food Safety Authority clarifies that when importing bait from countries outside the EEA/EU, a health certificate and clear labelling are required. The national model and transport document that was previously used has been replaced by an EU model of the health certificate.
Consignments must be registered in TRACES and labeled so that they cannot be mixed up with products for human consumption. This also applies to onward transport and any splitting of the consignment.
There is a transitional arrangement until 1st of January 2026. From this date, consignments of bait that are notified in TRACES must be accompanied by a correct health certificate signed by the authority in the country of dispatch for consignment to be approved.
What requirements apply when importing bait?
When importing bait from countries outside the EEA/EU, a health certificate is required in accordance with EU Regulation 2020/2235.
The previous national model and transport document shall not be used as of 1st of January 2026.
Consignments must be notified in TRACES.
There are requirements for labels showing that the product is not suitable for human consumption and linking the product to the accompanying documentation.
The labeling must be visible and durable - unmarked goods will not be accepted at border control.
Requirements for importing bait
Frozen squid, mackerel, saury and other fish to be used for bait (fishing bait) are not feed, but a category 3 animal by-product. Such consignments must be checked at a border inspection post approved for by-products when imported into Norway from countries outside the EEA/EU.
Health certificate
In 2015, an EU requirement for a health certificate was introduced for imports of bait from countries outside the EEA/EU. The model certificate can be found in Chapter 3 of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2020/2235.
In the health certificate for baits, box I.20 must be ticked for “Other” and in box I.27 Description of consignment it must be written “Fishing bait”.
There are no national health requirements for bait, therefore in Part II: Certification box II. ”Health information” can be left blank.
This certificate replaces the “Model certificate of origin/ transport document for import of fish or fishery products to be used as bait to Norway from third countries”, which is no longer to be used.
Labelling
There is a requirement that consignments arriving at the border inspection post must be identifiable by the labelling on the packaging. This means, for example, that cartons of frozen fish bait, which are stacked on a pallet with plastic around them, may be labelled at pallet level.
The labelling must
- state that the product is not suitable for human consumption
- have a Batch number or similar that can link the consignment to the accompanying documents.
If the consignment is to be split up after border control, the labelling must be such that there are no unlabeled goods after the split-up.