A YORK-headquartered veterinary group is launching a new food export service as part of its expansion plans.

VetPartners is behind the new, nationwide Exports By Vets, providing export health certification for the global distribution of food and products of animal origin.

It is offering a 24-hour, seven-day service for all product groups.

This includes meat, dairy, fish, eggs and gelatin, as well as compounds and germplasm, providing on-site certification for one-off exports or long-term clients.

The new service is taking advantage of VetPartners' 130-plus veterinary practices operating in nearly 500 sites across the UK, with 5,522 employees.

Its scale and reach means the group is able to meet growing demand from the food processing and food export industry for Export Health Certification (EHC) for the worldwide distribution of British food and animal products.

The on-site service can be provided in any location by qualified Official Veterinarians (OVs) with extensive experience in the food export sector, ensuring an efficient service tailored to customer requirements.

Ashley Marshall, national lead for Exports By Vets, said: “There is huge demand for this service from food producers and the global market for Great British produce.

"VetPartners can provide a national service, with all the benefits of a big team with local contacts, that is reliable and well-supported.

“We have an experienced support network of vets with a wealth of knowledge and expertise in this industry, covering the human and pet food markets.

"Our OVs ensure that products have been through all processes required by the exporters to meet the requirements of the importing company, and we verify products we are signing off have gone into containers.”

Exports By Vets has its administrative centre in Clitheroe.

Established in November 2015, VetPartners is made up of some of the UK’s most respected and trusted small animal, equine, mixed and farm animal practices.

In 2019, the group expanded into Europe with the addition of five veterinary practices in Italy and is anticipating further growth in both Italy and France in 2020.

VetPartners also has a small animal veterinary nursing school, an equine veterinary nursing school, laboratories, research dairy and a locum agency.