Bloksera · For UK food and supplement importers

Know your food import is legal to land and legal to sell.

Send me your product list. For each product: the code, duty, border checks, UK label rules and what's missing, every line sourced.

Get your first answer free Book 15 minutes

Advisory only. I don't file anything with HMRC, Defra or any agency, and I don't approve labels. Your broker still files.

From £129 a month + VATMonth to monthFirst month back if it isn't useful

Catalogue entryBaklava · Turkey

Critical

1905 90 70 00

Section IV ›Chapter 19 ›1905 ›1905 90

Duty, proof of origin0%

Without it8%

01Butter: animal-origin control
02Pistachios: high-risk food check for aflatoxins

Dairy establishment approval numberBlocking

HMRC Trade Tariff · legislation.gov.uk · GOV.UK

You can't ask about a rule you don't know exists.

Take one product: baklava from Turkey.

At the port

The pistachios. Turkish pistachios are on the high-risk list for aflatoxins, so the product needs a border check before it moves.

On the shelf

The label. Pistachio, milk and wheat must stand out in the ingredients list. And if the maker isn't in the UK, the pack needs a UK address. Usually yours.

The FSA tested 45 Dubai-style chocolate bars sold in the UK.1was fully compliant.Most were imported, and missing UK importer details was one of the problems.

The bill arrives later

Held 40ft dry container · Felixstowe · Day 21

£1,217.52

Days 1–12 · freeFrom day 13

At your cost

A consignment that fails its checks can be destroyed or sent back, "at the expense of the operator." That's you.

Regulation (EU) 2017/625, Art. 66

£135.28 a day

Storage on a held 40ft dry container at Felixstowe from day 13. Refrigerated containers pay for power and monitoring from day one.

Port of Felixstowe rates, April 2026

You carry it

Even when a broker files for you, you're responsible for the rules. Their mistakes can leave you owing the extra duty and VAT.

GOV.UK, due diligence guidance

Your broker files the entry.Knowing what it needs is still on you.

It lands on you

"My broker handles that."

They file what you give them. Standard UK broker terms make you warrant the commodity codes and cover their storage and demurrage costs.

BIFA Standard Trading Conditions 2025, clauses 18A and 20A

"The label came from the supplier."

Since January 2024, imported packs sold in Great Britain need a UK address. If the maker is overseas, the importer answers for the label.

Regulation 1169/2011, Art. 8 · GOV.UK food labelling guidance

"It'll get through."

At Felixstowe, a high-risk food document check costs £68.94. A non-compliant consignment adds £153.88. If it fails, it's destroyed or sent back at your expense.

Felixstowe port health fees 2026/27 · Regulation 2017/625, Art. 66

Smaller food businesses passed the FSA's 2025/26 checks 64% of the time. Large retailers passed 82%.FSA retail surveillance 2025/26, published July 2026

One answer, three questions

Legal to land

The 10-digit commodity code with its full path, the duty and the proof of origin a lower rate depends on, and every border check and certificate the product needs.

Legal to sell

What the GB label must show, the 14 allergens and how to emphasise them, the UK address rule, and for supplements, whether an ingredient or a claim needs approval first.

What's missing

Your documents and label text against what the rules ask for. Gaps listed first, each with the rule behind it, so you fix them before you order.

What you receive

What one product looks like in your catalogue

The baklava again.

Your catalogue · EntryBaklava · Origin: Turkey

Checked and sent by Ahmed Hayek

Status

Critical

Why it matters: Critical items sit at the top. Don't ship until cleared.

Commodity code

1905 90 70 00Chapter 19 › 1905 › 1905 90

Why it matters: The full path, so your broker can check it, not trust it.

Duty

0% with proof of Turkish origin. 8% without it.

Why it matters: Every lower rate comes with its condition.

VAT

Unsettled

Both 0% and 20% sit on this code. Confirm with HMRC before invoicing.

Why it matters: When the law isn't clear, the entry says so.

Border

1.Butter: animal-origin control.
2.Pistachios: high-risk check for aflatoxins.

Why it matters: Every control on the code, in plain English.

Label

Emphasise pistachio, milk, wheat. UK address needed. Your label text not yet seen.

Why it matters: Checked against the label text you send.

Missing

Dairy establishment approval numberBlocking

Label textBlocking

Why it matters: Updated as things arrive.

Sources

HMRC Trade Tariff, legislation.gov.uk, GOV.UK and FSA guidance, each with the date checked

Why it matters: Nothing rests on my word alone.

Every month

Ask before you commit

Most questions come with something new: a product, a supplier, an origin. The monthly plan is built around that.

New products checked.Land and sell, before you place the order. Up to 3, 10 or 25 a month, by plan.
Your questions answered.On WhatsApp or email, with the source attached.
Your deadlines.Quota licences and certificate dates you give me, flagged before they lapse.
Your suppliers and rules.Sanctions changes, FSA alerts and rule changes, filtered to what you actually import. No newsletter.

Who's behind it

An answer you can't check is a guess.

Ahmed Hayek

7 years in food import and export trading. 16 years in business. Based in Muscat, Oman, with response times counted in UK working days. You deal with me directly.

Every line carries its source and the date it was checked. If your broker disagrees, you both have something to open.
The code you were given gets checked, not copied.
When something isn't certain, the entry says so, and what would settle it.

How it starts

Email me one product, or book 15 minutes.
Send your product list: what each product is, ingredients, packaging, origin, and a photo or the text of the label. A spreadsheet or a rough list both work.
I send any questions back in one go, then your full catalogue, Critical items first.
After that, send new products and questions whenever they come up.

Pricing

Border and label, in every plan.

How many products are in your catalogue?20Mid

Small
Fits you
£129a month
+ 20% VAT
Products in your catalogue
Up to 10
New products checked each month
Up to 3
Answers to your questions
Within 48 hours
Full first catalogue
Within 5 working days
Start with Small
Mid
Fits you
£249a month
+ 20% VAT
Products in your catalogue
Up to 50
New products checked each month
Up to 10
Answers to your questions
Within 24 hours
Full first catalogue
Within 10 working days
Start with Mid
Large
Fits you
£449a month
+ 20% VAT
Products in your catalogue
Up to 100
New products checked each month
Up to 25
Answers to your questions
Same working day
Full first catalogue
Within 15 working days
Start with Large

The Mid plan costs less than one paid label review elsewhere, at £250 a label.

Prices exclude VAT. More than 100 products? Email me for a quote.

Month to month. No contract. If the first month isn't useful, you get the whole month back.

Included in every plan

Codes and duty
Border requirements
Label and sale requirements
Your catalogue and gaps
Questions on WhatsApp or email
Deadlines, screening and rule changes

Questions

Good, keep them. They file what you give them. I tell you what each product needs before you order, at the border and on the shelf, sourced so you can forward it to them.

No. Label checks are advisory. I tell you what the rules require and what looks missing. I don't approve labels, and the business named on the pack stays responsible for them. For legally assured advice, the route is a Primary Authority partnership with a local council.

Yes, the sources are public. The baklava code alone carries 8 rules at the border, before the label. Reading them isn't the hard part. Knowing which apply to your product is.

Every line shows its source and the date I checked it, so you or your broker can verify it first. I advise; I don't file or certify.

They're used only to do your work. They're never sold or shared with other clients, and you can ask for a copy or for deletion at any time. Details are in the privacy notice.

What this is not

Not A filing service.I never submit anything to HMRC, Defra, APHA, the FSA or port health for you.
Not A licensed broker.I'm not a customs broker or any other licensed trade professional.
Not Label approval.No certified sign-off, label design or printing, and no lab testing.
Not A replacement for your broker.I tell you what's needed. They handle the entry.

Who this is for

For

UK limited companies importing food or food supplements regularly, with more than a handful of products. Especially if your products come from outside the EU.

Not for

One-off or personal shipments, anyone who needs declarations filed for them, or anyone who needs a certified label sign-off.

Send me one product. I'll tell you if it's legal to land and legal to sell.

No card, no demo. Email the product, its origin and a photo of the label. The first answer is free. Sign up later and the first month is refundable if it isn't useful.