The first “not for EU” labels have appeared on food products sold in Northern Ireland, in a sign for consumers of the changes resulting from the Windsor framework deal that updated the region’s post-Brexit arrangements.
As part of the framework – announced in February and designed to end the long-running dispute between the EU and the UK over the Northern Ireland protocol – new labelling is being introduced for certain retail goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
“Not for EU” labels have been spotted on own-brand meat products sold at Asda, making it the first supermarket to change its packaging in advance of the deadline, as first reported by the BBC.
From the start of October, businesses will be required to use such labels on all meat and on some dairy products moved to Northern Ireland, while this scheme will be rolled out to the rest of the UK in a further two phases by July 2025.
The new labelling is required under the Northern Ireland retail movement scheme, part of the framework that allows prepackaged retail goods, including meat and fresh produce, and certain loose goods such as fruit and vegetables, to be transported from Great Britain through a “green lane” to Northern Ireland.
The labels are designed to ensure these goods are not moved onwards into the EU, for example, to the Republic of Ireland.
Individual products will require different labels, as well as some boxes, and different signs will also be required at some Northern Ireland retailers.
Under the terms of the previous Northern Ireland protocol, agreed in 2019 by the then prime minister, Boris Johnson, the region remained inside the EU’s single market for goods.
The protocol was contentious because it resulted in an open trade border on the island of Ireland but in effect created a sea border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, making trading more expensive and more complicated.
Products that arrived into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK were subject to checks and controls, a move that prompted political instability and drew protests from the Democratic Unionist party.
Retailers, including the chair of Marks & Spencer, previously attacked the Northern Ireland protocol rules for sending food between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, calling them “highly bureaucratic and pretty pointless”.
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However, supermarkets including M&S also previously urged the government not to consider adding separate labelling for goods sold in Northern Ireland, saying this would add cost for retailers and customers.
Some retailers have expressed concern that businesses have not had enough time to prepare for the scheduled labelling change, which could mean that not all companies comply with the new rules when they are introduced in October.
However, the government has suggested in its most recent guidance that it may not fully enforce the new rules in the initial period after introduction.
An update issued in late July by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs stated that “procedures will be in place” during the first few months of the new scheme to ensure that authorised food traders will be able to benefit from the green lane between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
