Hull's chief port health inspector says the government's decision to further delay the introduction of post-Brexit border checks on EU food imports has created "huge uncertainty" over the issue.
The move announced in April by Brexit Opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg was the fourth time in just over two years that a proposed starting date for inspections on food and animal products had been put on hold. The latest target date is now late 2023.
Physical inspections on meat imports were meant to start in July with checks on dairy products due to be introduced in September and checks on all remaining imported UE food, including fish, due to start from November. Before Brexit , no border checks were needed on such items because the UK was part of the EU's frictionless trading regime across member state borders.
