Cheese ‘blockade’ warning amid plans to enforce vet checks on EU imports
Britain faces a “blockade” on cheese and meat products from Europe, under plans for new Brexit border checks, the Government has been warned.
Industry leaders have sounded the alarm over proposals to introduce border controls on goods arriving from the continent from the end of October.
The extra red tape means a vet will have to sign off on all imports of “medium risk” food, including unpasteurised cheese, and both fresh and frozen meat.
Last month, ministers involved plans to finally introduce safety checks that have been delayed since Britain left the EU at the start of 2020.
Massive shock coming
Shane Brennan, the chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, warned the controls would make it much harder to bring some goods into the UK.
“We’re going to see EU-based cheese and meat suppliers finding on November 1 that they can’t fulfil their Christmas orders,” he told the Telegraph.
“It’s going to come as a massive shock to the system, and there will be paralysis as a result while everything has to reset.
“We’re not talking about shelves being empty. We’re talking about the choice being severely reduced, particularly in the first eight to 12 weeks.
“Some goods will not be available at all in the UK at first, and then they will be much more limited in supply and much more expensive.”
A step back to the 1950s
Mr Brennan called for a Government rethink, saying the need for veterinary checks was “a 19th century solution to a 21st century problem”.
“We’re putting our food supplies at the mercy of German Polish and Dutch vets, who have no interest in whether it gets to us or not,” he added.
“It’s a step back to the 1950s in terms of the types of the supply chain options we have, in terms of getting hold of goods from Europe.”
EU countries applied the full range of checks to goods arriving from Britain on the first day after Brexit, but the UK delayed reciprocating.
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