Government drops ‘Not for EU’ labelling requirements

Defra has announced that, having reviewed the evidence from the consultation and engaged with the industry, GB-wide ‘not for EU’ labelling will not be implemented from the beginning of October, a decision welcomed by the NFU.

However, the government remains committed to ensuring the availability of goods in Northern Ireland and as such will establish the legislative power necessary to apply labelling requirements more widely as a contingency measure should further intervention be required in the future.

The government has also re-stated its commitment to the implementation of the broader Windsor Framework Agreement and the planned Phase 2 of the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme will begin as planned in October 2024.

Confusion and misconceptions

Responding to the news, NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “It’s good news that the government will no longer be introducing ‘Not for EU’ labelling across Great Britain.

“As we outlined in our consultation response, the government must avoid any approach, both now and in the future, that leads to confusion and misconceptions about the high-quality products UK farmers are proud to produce.”

This consultation has now closed. 

The NFU’s submission recognised that all domestic food manufacturers and farmers should be able to sell their goods across the UK.

However, the NFU did not agree with the decision to proactively extend ‘not for EU’ labelling across the entire British market. It feels the government has not given sufficient justification for the new labelling measure.

The response said the NFU was ‘not aware of any legal commitments arising from the Windsor Framework or the EU-UK Trade & Co-operation Agreement that requires the UK Government to apply not for EU labelling requirements across the GB market’.

The NFU also expressed concerns that the new requirements would add to an already busy labelling landscape and cause confusion amongst customers and add unnecessary costs to the supply chain.

Furthermore, it highlighted the inconsistency of exempting NI suppliers from having to meet the ‘not for EU’ labelling requirements when placing goods on the GB market. This, it said, may lead to further confusion and could create distortions impacting commercial investment plans for the building of future processing facilities across the UK.

The NFU urged the government to clearly define who would be responsible for the labelling requirements, and to ensure that small and medium operators, including farmers and farmers operating farm shops, are made exempt.

The government is currently legislating to confirm that labelling requirements on agri-food products are applied across Great Britain, and to ensure that no incentive arises for businesses to avoid placing goods on the Northern Ireland market.

The UK Government has opted to push for this labelling requirement to be applied throughout the UK, fearing that choice and availability could be limited in Northern Ireland, potentially treating consumers there differently compared to in the rest of the UK.

A notable exception in the requirements is that goods produced in NI do not need to be labelled ‘Not for EU’ irrespective of where they are sold.

The NFU will be responding to the consultation on behalf of members.

Stakeholders can also respond directly to the consultation before 15 March 2024 at: GOV.UK | Marking of Retail Goods Consultation