"The Labour government secured a new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement with the EU earlier this year, which allows British businesses to sell products including some burgers and sausages in the EU for the first time since Brexit. However, the deal ties the UK to some EU laws concerning food labelling, and the EU is set to vote this week on banning the use of meaty terms to describe vegetarian food after lobbying from the livestock industry."
"It is understood that the amendment would automatically come into force in the UK were it passed in the EU, and then it would be subject to negotiations, when a specific exemption could be carved out if it was in line with the agreement. The Food Standards Agency is understood to have told stakeholders that UK businesses would be subject to the new EU rules on plant-based labelling, if they were adopted."
"The common understanding between the UK and EU, which underpins the deal, states on labelling: An exception could only be agreed if: (i) it does not lead to lower standards as compared to EU rules, (ii) it does not negatively affect EU goods being placed on the market in the UK. Government sources said these clauses would be undermined if a labelling ban took place in the EU and was not adopted in the UK."
The SPS agreement allows British businesses to sell certain plant-based burgers and sausages in the EU for the first time since Brexit. The agreement ties the UK to some EU food labelling laws, meaning EU changes could affect UK labels. The EU is considering a ban on using meaty terms to describe vegetarian foods following livestock industry lobbying, with the European Parliament already voting in favour. If adopted, the amendment would automatically come into force in the UK under the alignment terms, before negotiations on possible exemptions. The common understanding permits exemptions only if they do not lower EU standards or disadvantage EU goods in the UK.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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