The government has been slammed for ignoring the issue of food safety in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) and Lord Bassam urged the government to offer clarity on food safety, demanding they state if they are considering suspending food regulations, will publish an impact statement on such a suspension, and if they will work with experts before making final decision.
Lord O’Shaughnessy, was only able to repeat that the Government is committed to high food standards and offered no further detail when pressed according to the CIEH.
Chief executive of the CIEH Anne Godfrey said: “We are disappointed by the Minister’s refusal to properly engage with this incredibly important issue. The issue of the UK’s food standards and supply is not something that can be brushed under the carpet. The country needs urgent clarification from the Government on what it intends to do going to prepare for a post-Brexit landscape.
There is already great uncertainty at our ports, and within our supply chains, and it is high time the Government explained their thinking so we can prepare.”
Lord Bassam offered harsher criticism of the government’s silence on the matter
“This is another example of the Government simply not dealing with a vital issue in the correct manner. Either they have a plan and will not reveal it, or they are hoping to muddle through and improvise when the time comes. Either way, this is not good enough,” Bassam said.
“If there is a “no deal” will they suspend our food regulations? Where will our food come from? What is going to happen at our ports? How will our cherished high food standards be protected? Parliament, industry, and the British people, deserve an answer.”
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