UK-EU Reset Risks British Food Being Dumped

The UK’s proposed EU reset could lead to volumes of British food, including fresh produce, being excluded from sale and thrown away, as growers grapple with stricter pesticide rules aligned with the European Union.

The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has warned that food grown using crop protection products not approved under EU regulations may no longer be marketable once new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules take effect, potentially from next year.

Under the planned agreement, the UK will closely mirror EU agricultural standards, requiring growers and suppliers to assess over 400 of regulatory changes to check their compliance. 

Industry leaders say this could create serious challenges for food businesses, particularly where existing pesticide regimes differ from those permitted in the EU.

Karen Betts, chief executive of the FDF, highlighted the risk for sectors such as potatoes and field vegetables, noting that crops grown using non-compliant inputs today could be barred from retail shelves within a few years. 

“If your potato was grown using a pesticide that is not approved by the EU, then potentially when it gets to supermarket sale in three years’ time, it is not going to be allowed to be sold,” Betts warned.

This raises the prospect of increased food waste if produce cannot be redirected into compliant supply chains.

The FDF has called for flexibility during the transition period to avoid unnecessary waste.

Betts is urging the government to “make sure that the transition period is flexible enough that companies can handle those sorts of situations so we don’t end up with loads of food waste and loads of oven chips being dumped”.

National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president Tom Bradshaw has stressed that any realignment must not undermine domestic production. 

Bradshaw warns that British growers should not be constrained by regulations that limit competitiveness or restrict sustainable crop protection options.

‘More Complicated’ Process

The FDF said some producers would have to make changes to their supply chains. 

This brings additional cost and complexity at a time when margins across the fresh food and produce sector remain under pressure. 

Betts warned that realigning with the EU’s food regulations was “a more complicated process than when we left the EU”.

“It is another cost that the industry is having to bear as they change the way in which they do things to comply with what turns out to be quite an expensive change in UK law,” she pointed out. 

The SPS agreement, originally signed in May 2025, forms part of Labour’s broader effort to reset trade relations with the EU. 

However, concerns persist across the supply chain that regulatory alignment could be introduced in the UK without a full parliamentary vote, leaving producers exposed to evolving EU rules.

The government is preparing legislation that would let MPs approve any future rule changes automatically, without debate, once a trade deal has been agreed with the bloc.

Source: The Telegraph