Starmer ditches plan to roll out ‘Not for EU’ stickers on British food items

Policy drawn up by Conservative government is believed to have been scrapped indefinitely

Sir Keir Starmer has scrapped plans to put “Not for EU” stickers on milk, butter, meat and fish being sold in British supermarkets. 
The Government is understood to have told UK food makers that it will indefinitely postpone new post-Brexit labelling rules, which had been drawn up by the previous Conservative government. 
The rules were set to require all meat, fish and dairy products in Britain to carry labels denoting they could not be sent to the EU and were expected to come into force from next month. 
The policy, part of the Windsor Framework to oversee the flow of imports between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, had been touted by Rishi Sunak as an effort to ensure that the same goods were on shelves across the entirety of the UK. 
Meat and dairy products being sent from Britain to Northern Ireland already have to carry the stickers.
However, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is understood to have told suppliers it has indefinitely delayed the need for all products to have stickers regardless of where they were being sent. 
Judith Bryans, chief executive of dairy group DairyUK, said: “Dairy UK welcomes the announcement that the GB-wide ‘Not for EU’ marking requirement will no longer be rolled out on 1st October this year.
“Had this initiative gone ahead with new labels being required on pack by the 1st of October, it would have resulted in chaos for dairy and added significant unnecessary cost and a huge admin burden to businesses.
“We’re very pleased that the Government has listened to and reflected on the concerns we raised on behalf of our members.”
The comments follow months of pressure from food and drink makers to delay the plans. 
Companies had warned over huge uncertainty after the Government launched a consultation on the policy earlier this year. However, there had been no update since, with some businesses deciding against making any changes to their packaging on the assumption that the rule change would not be introduced. 
Industry groups have been warning that the proposals would cost food and drink makers “hundreds of millions of pounds”.
Karen Betts, the chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation, earlier this year said: “It will lead to higher prices amid a cost of living crisis and to lower investment at a time when investment in our sector is already down.”
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “Ministers are carefully considering the evidence provided in the recent ‘not for EU’ labelling consultation.
“We are committed to taking all necessary steps to protect the UK internal market and are continuing to engage with businesses to ensure the smooth flow of goods to Northern Ireland.”