Under plans outlined by the previous government, all meat and dairy products sold in the UK would have been required to feature ‘not for EU’ labelling from 1 October 2024, with similar rules set to be applied to goods such as fruit, vegetables and fish from July next year.
Such rules already apply to food sold in Northern Ireland as part of measures that were designed to ensure frictionless trade in food products between the country and the rest of the UK.
Extending the requirement throughout the rest of the UK was proposed as a way of ensuring that retailers did not stop supplying Northern Ireland with goods, but after reviewing the evidence and engaging with businesses, the government has been assured that this will not be the case.
Moving forward, the government will continue to monitor the UK internal market and said that if necessary it would intervene in order to to protect the availability of goods in Northern Ireland.
A statement from Defra regarding the move said that the government will work with industry on a data-driven approach that protects consumer choice in Northern Ireland and recognises a “clear commitment from business to serve customers across the UK”.
“As such we will put in place the legislative powers necessary to apply labelling requirements more widely as a contingency measure if that is required,” the statement continued.
“These powers will enable us to target intervention where there is evidence of significant risks of products not being available. We will set out further details in due course. But we will continue to do everything required to support Northern Ireland's integral place in our internal market.”
Change should have been confirmed sooner
In response, Provision Trade Federation director general Rod Addy welcomed the move, explaining that the organisation has "campaigned vociferously for the crazy idea of GB-wide ‘not for EU’ labelling to be scrapped" alongside a number of companies and trade associations.
“While this announcement isn’t exactly that, it is an improvement on the potential scenario faced by businesses and at least means they don’t have to implement it tomorrow, as proposed by the Windsor Framework command paper," Addy added.
“For those who have already invested to change their labelling and product runs, this will be cold comfort, but at least it means they won’t have to face recurring costs. For those who haven’t yet invested to make the change, this is one cost they will not now have to bear. That said, it would have been good to have this confirmed in writing sooner. The threat of GB-wide ‘not for EU’ labelling of course remains. Let’s hope UK government will be able to negotiate a solution with the EU that makes it unnecessary.”
