Business Insider reports that thousands of British food businesses could be left without the correct labelling required to continue selling to the European Union and Northern Ireland. The UK government missed an industry Brexit deadline to advise them on what new rules they will have to follow.
As soon as the UK leaves the EU’s trading rules, British food and drink labels will no longer be legally recognized in Europe.
UK trade associations repeatedly warned Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government that the end of August was the absolute deadline for issuing guidance that will allow them to produce new labels in time for January 1.
“With the transition period coming to an end, UK-EU negotiations still ongoing, and updates to official guidance still awaited, the food industry has effectively run out of time to process the necessary label changes ahead of the January 2021 Brexit deadline,” Alex Turtle, the Food and Drink Federation’s labelling and enforcement manager, told Business Insider.
He continued, ” “Because of the particular situation of the country’s status change, the UK’s exit from the EU necessitates food label adaptations like never before. It is complicated to reformulate food labels after Brexit, and the government must provide guidance as soon as possible.”
Labeling, according to UK government sources and senior industry executives, is one of the most difficult aspects of preparing the country for life outside the EU.
