Supermarkets face labelling items ‘not for EU’ four times
SUPERMARKETS face having to label food as “not for EU” in four different ways under Brexit plans being discussed by the Government.
Grocery chiefs are understood to be expecting to have to place labels denoting food cannot be sent to the EU on not only the individual packs of food, but also on cases carrying products and on supermarket shelves.
This follows discussions in recent weeks with officials and could potentially result in stores replacing millions of shelf edge labels. The British Retail Consortium has warned that many traders do not have “sufficient detail” over the requirements.
“Not for EU” labels will start being phased in on meat and dairy products from October as part of the so-called Windsor framework.
They were initially expected to only apply to products going into Northern Ireland, but The Daily Telegraph revealed that the labels would be brought in across the whole of the UK.
It sparked criticism from senior Conservatives including Sir Iain Duncan Smith who branded the rules “ridiculous”. David Jones, a former Cabinet minister, said: “There is no good reason why food produced and sold in any part of the UK should be labelled ‘not for EU’, much less if it is sold in mainland Great Britain.”
Despite this, ministers have pushed ahead with the plans. James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, confirmed that the labels would be required across the UK for “practical and philosophical” reasons. This would create a common labelling regime across the UK.
Andrea Martinez-inchausti, assistant director of food at the BRC, said: “The Government must realise that the scale of relabelling, which we cannot begin until we have the detail, means there is insufficient time to make the necessary changes ahead of the Oct 1 deadline for moving goods to Northern Ireland through the new green lane. It is unclear why such labelling is necessary for all goods sold in Great Britain.”
A government spokesman said: “We have always been clear that labelling would be needed for the green lane. We are engaging with businesses to help them adapt to these arrangements.”