The United Kingdom could be left without European cheese and meat if new veterinary control requirements for ‘medium risk’ products are introduced, writes The Daily Telegraph. Food industry leaders have warned that such Brexit measures would be a step backwards for the industry and the need to rebuild supply chains would “paralyse” the market.
The UK faces a “blockade” on cheese and meat products from Europe following the introduction of new border control rules under Brexit conditions from November, The Daily Telegraph quoted the government as warning. Food industry leaders have expressed alarm at the plans: they involve passing veterinary controls for all imports of “medium-risk” products, including cheese made from unpasteurised milk and fresh and frozen meat.
Last month British ministers finally began preparing a new plan to introduce safety checks, the paper says. Their introduction has been delayed four times since the UK left the European Union in early 2020, fearing it could exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis. Former Brexit party capability minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has repeatedly pointed out that the government needs to relax inspection criteria, but some sectors, especially agriculture, are pushing for stricter rules for European goods. For its part, the EU has imposed a range of checks on products coming from the island since the first day after the UK’s exit.
Shane Brennan, chief executive of frozen food supply company Cold Chain Federation, warned that the introduction of border controls could make it difficult to ship some goods to the UK. He told The Daily Telegraph that from November European cheese and meat suppliers would find they would be unable to meet pre-Christmas orders. Brennan added that the new rules would be a “huge shock to the system” and the need to reconfigure it would “paralyse” the market. “We are not talking about empty shelves,” the expert explained. – We are talking about a significant reduction in choice, especially in the first eight to 12 weeks.” According to him, some products will disappear from UK shops first and then reappear “in much more limited quantities and at a much higher price”.
Shane Brennan therefore urged the UK government to think again before tackling “twenty-first century problems the way the nineteenth century did”. “We are putting our food supply at the mercy of German, Polish and Danish vet control, who don’t care whether it gets to us or not,” stressed the Cold Chain Federation chief executive. – This is a step back to the 1950s in terms of what options we have in terms of supply chains and delivery of goods from Europe.
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