The government has announced an indefinite delay to the requirement that ‘Not for EU’ labelling be printed on all meat, fish and dairy products bound for UK supermarkets, the Guardian reported yesterday.
The labelling requirement, set out by the previous Conservative government to comply with the Windsor Framework, was set to come into force from 1 October.
The change follows outcry from industry bodies who warned last week that implementation would be disruptive to businesses and costly for consumers.
Balancing act
Maighdlin Gibson, trade and customs specialist at the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, said that the labelling requirement “was always going to be a tricky one to get right”.
“It places additional planning and spending burdens on businesses, while requiring compliance with the Windsor Framework.”
Given the “complex and fast-moving supply chains of the food industry” Gibson added that the putting the requirement into practice would have been a significant challenge:
“UK-wide labelling may have been seen as the best solution, but the cost factor to businesses needed to be considered, especially for traders who export and run two product lines, and traders who are not in the Northern Ireland market.”
She also noted the widespread miscommunication behind the meaning of ‘Not for EU’ among shoppers, with many concerned that the label indicated products were of an inferior standard of food safety to those sold in the EU.
Industry reaction
Judith Bryans, chief executive of DairyUK, told the Telegraph that the group “welcomes the announcement”.
“Had this initiative gone ahead with new labels being required on pack by 1 October, it would have resulted in chaos for dairy and added significant unnecessary cost and a huge admin burden to businesses.”
Last week a coalition of industry bodies, including the Provision Trade Federation, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and the Chilled Food Association, submitted a letter to government last week calling for either a six-month delay or a decision not to proceed with the labelling changes.
They warned that it was “already too late” to go ahead because businesses were ill-prepared to make the changes.
The Food and Drink Federation warned earlier this year that the cost of implementing the labelling changes could reach £250m per year and be passed onto customers as point of purchase.
Windsor Framework
The Windsor Framework amended the previous EU-UK agreement – the Northern Ireland Protocol – to prevent the creation of a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland following Brexit.
The Protocol and Framework introduced new documentary requirements for British traders sending goods to Northern Ireland (while avoiding similar measures to NI-GB trade).
As a result, under the framework, meat and dairy goods destined for Northern Ireland must carry the ‘Not for EU’ label and have done so since October 2023.