Export document

EU approved establishment number

Products of animal origin, fishery products among them, can only enter the European Union from an establishment that already appears on the EU's published list for that country. Each approved plant carries a number, and the approval has to exist before your consignment ships.

The essentials.

What it is: A number identifying a plant the European Union has accepted for export of a given category of product.¹
How a plant gets on the list: The competent authority of the exporting country proposes it and guarantees that it meets EU requirements. Approval is granted per establishment and per product category.¹
When you need to know: Before you select a supplier. This is a qualifying question rather than a shipping detail.¹

Who asks for it.

Set at European Union level, so it reads the same in every member state. The authority enforcing it changes at each border, the requirement does not.

What it does not cover.

It cannot be added to your order
Getting a plant listed runs through the exporting country's authority and the Commission on their own timetable. If your chosen producer is not on the list today, the realistic answer is a different producer.
Approval is narrower than a company
The listing belongs to a specific site and specific product categories. A group with one approved plant does not thereby have approval for its other plants or its other product lines.

Questions buyers ask.

How do I check a plant?

The European Commission publishes the lists of approved establishments by country and by product category. Ask the supplier for the number and look it up rather than taking a screenshot of a certificate at face value.

Does this apply outside the EU?

Other markets run their own registration systems with their own lists, and an EU approval does not carry across. A plant approved for the EU may still need separate registration for China, Japan or the United States.

Where this comes up.

Indonesian yellowfin tuna
Cuts, cold chain and the two EU requirements you cannot arrange late: a flag-state validated catch certificate and an approved processing plant.

Worth reading.

Sources

1Entering the European market for fresh tuna. CBI, Netherlands Enterprise Agency. Checked 3 August 2026.

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