How a cheese ban drove a new wedge between the UK and EU

Relations between the UK and the EU are arguably at their best since the Brexit vote in 2016, but there is a persistent cold front between the neighbors over a ban on imports of continental cheese and meat.

In April, Britain banned people from bringing all dairy products and a range of meat from the European Union into the country for personal consumption, saying the ban was necessary to prevent the potential spread of foot-and-mouth disease among British livestock following an outbreak in Europe earlier this year.

British holidaymakers traveling to the continent have been warned not to bring home food items such as cheese, chorizo, serrano ham or sandwiches containing any of these items. A wide range of prohibited productsEven if it is stamped or purchased from duty free shops at airports. The ban extends to cakes, biscuits and chocolate that contain a high percentage of unprocessed dairy products or fresh cream.

Those found with prohibited items were told they must hand them over at the border, or have them confiscated and destroyed. The government said anyone who violates the restrictions could receive a fine of 5,000 pounds (about $6,700).

The UK said the British ban does not apply to commercial food imports because they are subject to more stringent biosecurity requirements, such as heat treatment and veterinary health certificates.

Cheese shops in Paris – especially those around Gare du Nord station where Eurostar trains travel to and from the UK – say the restrictions have affected sales to a vital customer base.

“Tourists are very important, especially the English,” Alexandre Vilaca, founder and director of Fromagerie Ferdinand in Paris, told CNBC, noting that when he opened his cheese shop eight years ago, he chose the Gare du Nord neighborhood for his international visitors.

“In the last few years, it has been very important to have English customers,” he said. “We vacuum-packed the cheese so they could easily travel to the UK, and we started having regular customers who used to stop by our store to give some gifts to families and friends… But a few months ago, customers told me that it was forbidden to bring the cheese back home.”

“This has had a significant impact on our sales to customers in the UK,” he added.

Villaca said the ban was largely illogical, given that French authorities were “very strict” about health controls and regular checks on cheese producers, their products and their distribution. He noted that the English cheese producers Vilaka worked with were also upset by the ban.

“We’re proud when customers take home some souvenirs, maybe some wine or some cheese – a little bit of France in their bags, so to speak. So we don’t understand [the ban]”We’re very upset and that’s bad news because it’s not great for business.”

These emergency measures were lifted after Germany was lifted He was declared free of foot-and-mouth disease In April, Hungary and Slovakia have not experienced any new outbreaks since April.

In late July, the UK government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced He said in the evaluation “Although the incursion of foot-and-mouth disease into Europe earlier in the year was undoubtedly worrying, there have been no further reports since April, suggesting that the situation in Hungary and Slovakia is under control.”

While the report’s authors said the risk of foot-and-mouth disease introducing into the UK was, in July, considered a “low” risk (rare but can happen), the report warned that foot-and-mouth disease could remain undetected for months.

The UK government told CNBC that although the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Europe has been contained, the ongoing ban on personal imports of cheese and many meats is intended to protect British farmers and the UK’s food security.

“Earlier this year, we took immediate action to ban personal imports of meat and dairy products from Europe following a spate of foot-and-mouth disease cases. We are also investing £1 billion [$1.3 billion] “In a new national biosecurity center to strengthen our world-leading facilities and protect our farmers, our food supply and our economy,” a Defra spokesperson told CNBC.

The spokesman added: “We will do everything necessary to protect our farmers from animal diseases.”

However, nearly six months into the ban, questions are being raised about whether the ongoing restrictions are excessive and no longer necessary.

Defra stressed that it is not alone in implementing the current restrictions, and that it is only doing what the European Union has been doing for several years, since Britain’s exit from the European Union, as standard practice.

Asked when the ban might be lifted, given that FMD cases were now contained on the continent, Defra said the government’s “response to FMD remains under constant review” and that it would “retain restrictions in England while personal imports of affected products pose biosecurity risks to Great Britain.”

In the European Union, four million animals were destroyed, and the outbreak is estimated to have cost member states 2.7 billion euros In terms of eradication measures and compensation to farmers.

The last outbreak in the UK was only in 2007 Eight farms affected But it was Its cost is estimated at 147 million pounds sterling In general, due to the ban on the movement of livestock on a large scale.