Baby food could disappear from NI shelves under EU Protocol demands

Baby food would be taken off shelves in Northern Ireland along with hundreds of other products if the EU’s plans to solve the Protocol row were enacted, peers have been warned.

A new Lords report published on Wednesday found businesses in the province face being swamped by a mountain of red tape if existing easements on border checks were scrapped.

It said that firms in Ulster are facing a “feast or famine” situation with some benefiting from unfettered access to the European market but others “on their knees”.

It came as Brussels was forced to deny claims on Tuesday that it had cut off cooperation on data sharing with the UK in a fit of pique over the Protocol row.

A Commission spokesman said reports that Thierry Breton, the French commissioner, had ordered officials to “cease cooperation” with Britain were “not accurate at all”.

Firms that gave evidence to the European Affairs Committee called on Brussels to reverse its thinking over how it treats goods travelling between Great Britain and Ulster.

But they also warned the UK Government against starting a “trade war” with the bloc and said “confrontational approaches” are damaging economic confidence.

The findings come after the EU launched legal action against the UK over its decision to turn temporary “grace periods” from some red tape into permanent exemptions.

Eurocrats are demanding the imposition of full checks on agri-food products, including chilled meats like sausages, and parcels that cross the Irish Sea.

But businesses that sell products into Northern Ireland have warned any toughening up of the current rules would have a “serious economic impact”.

In a submission to the committee, Boots, the pharmacist, said it had already removed many food products from shelves in the province as a result of red tape.

“We are concerned about the introduction of full border control” for goods of animal origin, it said, adding “any additional red tape … will impact heavily on product availability”.

“We are forecasting that we will not be able to provide 22 per cent of our existent food supplement offer and 44 per cent of our baby food offer” in such a scenario, the company warned.

“At minimum, we would like to see the current derogation kept as they currently are.”

Boots also warned that if the EU scraps the grace periods “we will need to implement restrictions for parcels being sent to NI only” including “weight limits for … baby formula”.

Stephen Kelly, the chief executive of Manufacturing NI, said ending the parcels exemption would see “a five-to-seven-times multiple of the customs requirements” for many firms.

Ulster’s retail sector “were it not for the grace periods, would have major challenges,” warned Conall Donnelly from the Northern Ireland Meat Exporters Association.

Peers on the cross-party committee said the findings showed the EU should “agree to the permanent continuation of the grace periods and derogations”.

Companies also urged Brussels to end its insistence that all goods arriving from Great Britain be treated as if they are heading onwards to the EU market.

“If the outcome were flipped on its head, we would have a much better outcome for Northern Ireland. That would remove quite significant burdens upon very many traders,” Mr Kelly said.

Anne Randles, from food giant Ornua which makes Kerrygold butter and Pilgrim’s Choice cheese, said products destined only for the province should be exempted from checks.

“The bureaucracy is ridiculous, frankly, and I am not sure it adds much in food safety. We need a bespoke system,” added Andrew Opie from the British Retail Consortium.

James Cleverly, who was a foreign office minister when the report was compiled, said the Government wants a deal but Brussels is being too puritanical.

“The sticking point is on the level of reassurance that the EU seeks. It is looking to put in processes that are not just practically, but also theoretically, watertight,” he said.