Raw sausages could face a ban on being exported to the EU.
- Credit: Press Association
Meat firms in Norfolk have said they will not be affected by new rules potentially banning the exports of raw sausages to Europe.
From January 1, the guidance as part of the post Brexit trade deal states chilled meat preparations (for example raw sausages) as well as chilled minced red meat cannot be exported to the EU.
But Cranswick PLC, which exports meat products, stated it mainly supplies the UK market and quantities of products to Europe were minimal .
The firm, which has a base in Brandon Road, Watton, supplies 72pc of its products to the UK with other markets including the food service industry. It exports mainly to China and north America.
Fresh British sausages will be banned from being exported to the EU when the post-Brexit transition period ends later this week.
EU rules mean that after December 31 so-called chilled meat preparations , a category which includes raw sausages, will be prohibited from entering the bloc.
Chilled minced meat - both red meat and poultry - will also be prohibited but it is thought frozen products will still be allowed.
However, British sausage-makers will still be able to send their fresh produce to Northern Ireland after the UK and Brussels agreed to special arrangements.
Boris Johnson is due to ask MPs to vote for his post-Brexit trade deal with the EU tomorrow
Brexit: UK sausage makers face EU export ban
Raw sausages and other minced meats can no longer be exported to the EU from 1 January, according to new rules.
The guidance is part of the post-Brexit trade deal agreed between the UK and the EU last week.
Meat industry bodies attended a conference call with ministers on Tuesday to seek clarification about the issue.
The British Meat Processors Association said it was one of several issues causing concern.
New EU rules on exports dictate that from 1 January, the following animal products cannot be exported into the EU:
Chilled minced red meat
The divorce, however, will still create significant disruption for a range of industries.
Business voices have pleaded for a grace period to comply with the changes
The U.K. and European Union may have signed a trade deal, but British businesses still face a raft of difficult changes.
More than four years in the making, the Brexit agreement avoids the worst-case scenario of new tariffs and quotas after December 31. That’s a welcome relief, and gives companies greater scope to focus on containing the damage from the coronavirus pandemic.
The divorce will still create significant disruption for a range of industries. Mutual recognition of standards, which would have allowed firms to make products in the U.K. and market them in the EU without any extra certification process, isn’t part of the deal. Likewise, workers in Britain’s services industry which makes up 80% of its economy face new costs and bureaucracy as their professional qualifications will no longer be automati