On the eve of ‘not for EU’ labels being introduced, the UK government has scrapped the plan but has not entirely ruled out a reversal.

The new rules were due to come into force today (1 October) on UK-manufactured food and drinks products crossing the Irish Sea to Northern Ireland as part of post-Brexit trading arrangements with the EU.

Local food industry bodies have welcomed the announcement, given the legislation was also to apply to UK goods remaining in the domestic market and not destined for Northern Ireland.

One such organisation, the Provision Trade Federation (PTF), criticised the UK government for not abandoning the plan sooner to avoid added costs already incurred by local food and beverage producers ahead of the legislation becoming effective.

Following consultations with affected parties, launched in February, the government said yesterday (30 September) it will “not proceed with the introduction of ‘not for EU’ labelling on a mandatory basis in Great Britain on 1 October”.

However, it added: “At the same time, we will take the powers necessary to apply ‘not for EU’ labelling in the future, if that is required to secure those supplies across the UK internal market.”

The plans formed part of the so-called Windsor Framework introduced by former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in February 2023 in agreement with EU President Ursula von der Leyen.

Implementation of that agreement is still ongoing and in the broader scheme was intended to help facilitate trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the wake of the Brexit deal.

It replaced the Northern Ireland Protocol put in place post-Brexit, as, in terms of trade only, the province was still regarded as part of the EU trading bloc.

“We welcome the ongoing commitment of businesses to continue to serve their customers in Northern Ireland,” the new UK Labour government said in a statement.

“We remain committed to ensuring that we safeguard the supply of supermarket supplies into Northern Ireland on an ongoing basis. We will work intensively with industry to monitor those supplies and to be assured that they will be maintained as the implementation of the Windsor Framework continues.”

Introducing the consultation process for ‘not for EU' labelling in February this year, the previous government said it was “legislating to confirm that labelling requirements on agri-food products are applied across Great Britain, to ensure no incentive arises for businesses to avoid placing goods on the Northern Ireland market”.

Among industry reaction, Karen Betts, the CEO of the Food and Drink Federation, suggested the government has “listened” to concerns by “maintaining a flexible and proportionate approach to ‘not for EU' labelling”.

She added: “Our members are committed to supplying all our products everywhere across the UK, including to Northern Ireland.

“This more flexible approach will help keep prices down for consumers and help companies manage stock and supplies, as well as removing a barrier to investment in UK manufacturing.”

Rod Addy, the director general of the PTF, called the labelling plans a “crazy idea”, while acknowledging industry is not completely out of the woods as the introduction has not entirely been ruled out.

“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,” Addy said.

He added: “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.”

Like the PTF, the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) also scolded the government for the late notification, indicating the new Labour leadership has not “given any steer so far as to what the current government is thinking”.

BMPA trade policy manager Nan Jones said: “Many companies have incurred unnecessary cost preparing for this, only to find out that it’s been put on hold. This is also why alignment with the EU would be so beneficial as it would remove the issues we currently have with movements to and from NI.

“We have continuously been left with a serious lack of timely and open communication over the last few years, which has been extremely costly for businesses.”