Britain starts physical checks on fresh food imports from the EU

Britain launched physical checks on fresh food products imported from the European Union on Tuesday some three years after it left the bloc’s single market and eight years after it voted to leave the EU.

While Britain’s major supermarkets and large EU exporting businesses have greater resources to handle the paperwork and new demands, smaller retailers and wholesalers have warned of delays and disruption and said consumers should expect a reduced variety of quality goods, less fresh produce and higher prices.

The rst phase of Britain’s so called new Border Target Operating Model, requiring additional certi cation, came into force on Jan. 31.

A second phase kicked o™ on Tuesday introducing physical checks at ports for so called “medium risk” animal products, plants

The government says the new checks are essential to help prevent diseases and pests entering Britain

and plant products, such as meat, sh, cheese, eggs, dairy products and certain cut «owers. New charges have also been introduced.

The government says the new checks, which involve visual inspections and the temperature readings of goods, are essential to help prevent diseases and pests entering Britain and will level the playing eld for U.K. exporters.

“It is essential that we introduce these global, risk-based checks to improve the U.K.’s biosecurity,” Cabinet O¬ce minister Lucy Neville-Rolfe said.

“We cannot continue with temporary measures which leave the U.K. open to threats from diseases and could do considerable damage to our livelihoods, our economy and our farming industry.”