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Poland applies European Union (EU) regulatory requirements for all food of animal- and plant-origin. Although the EU has harmonized export certificate requirements for most products, Poland maintains national-level oversight for products still not harmonized under the EU. Poland’s competent authorities can be consulted on a case-by-case basis regarding requirements for non-EU harmonized products. The EU requires that all requisite products be accompanied by sanitary and/or phytosanitary certificates at the port of entry.

Poland is a European Union (EU) Member State and applies all EU regulations pertaining to imports of food and feed products. U.S. food and feed suppliers to Poland should verify with local importers and appropriate U.S. regulatory agencies regarding the most current local requirements prior to shipment.

Poland opposes the use of genetic engineering in agriculture. Although the current regulatory framework technically allows genetically engineered (GE) seeds to enter commerce, the law stipulates they cannot be planted.

As of September 2022, Israel does not have a policy restricting the use of imported genetically engineered (GE) commodities or derivative products. There are no changes in Israel’s policy towards plant, animal biotechnology, and microbial biotechnology compared to 2021.

The impact of the COVID-19 on the Israeli hotel, restaurant, and institutional (HRI) sector was nothing short of devastating. According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, accommodation and foodservice activities declined by forty percent in 2020. The sector started to recover during 2021, and it is expected to recover, with a return to pre-COVID-19 sales by 2023.

Poland is Central and Eastern Europe’s largest market for food and beverage products. With a population of nearly 38 million people, Poland is a large and growing market for U.S. food and agricultural products.

In Marketing Year (MY) 2022, FAS Warsaw forecasts Poland’s total cherry production at 261,500 metric tons (MT), consisting of 183,000 MT sour cherries and of 78,500 MT sweet cherries. Post forecasts that the domestic consumption of cherries will increase by 14.4 percent, mostly due to bigger availability of these fruits for the processing industry.

• Israel passes amendments to the Public Health Protection Act (Food) to ease and reduce the regulatory burden on food importation. Among the amendments is an importation track called the “European Track” which will come into force on January 1, 2023. • New temporary provision easing the importation of certain sensitive foods, “Public Health Protection Act Food (Certificate of Release for Certain Sensitive Foods) (Temporary Provision)- 2022.” • Cancellation of the additional requirements for importing and releasing food products imported without direct contact with the manufacturer.

The report lists and describes certificates that should accompany food and agricultural products to Israel. It also includes the purpose of each certificate and the governmental agency responsible. In general, an original invoice, bill of lading, packing list, weighing list, health certificate, batch number certificate, invoice declaration, and insurance certificate are required to accompany any shipment. An export certificate matrix is included in this report.

In June 2022, Israel authorized the import of U.S. processed meat products, thus making the United States the first and only country with market access for processed meat products in Israel.

To assist U.S. exporters, FAS Tel Aviv has translated Israel’s limits on heavy metals in foodstuffs.

Poland is Central and Eastern Europe’s largest market for food and beverage products. With a population of nearly 38 million people, Poland is a growing and viable market for U.S. food and agricultural products. Over 373,000 stores operate in Poland. In 2021 Poland’s real GDP growth reached 5.9 percent. Due primarily to the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, real GDP growth is expected to slow down to 3.9 percent in 2022.