British ham and bacon producers are set to cut the use of nitrites in line with new European Union regulations as London and Brussels gear up for Brexit reset talks next week.
Stricter EU rules limiting the amount of nitrites permitted in processed meats, including bacon, ham and sausages, come into force in October.
But the UK is still allowing higher levels of the controversial chemicals, deemed as potentially cancer-causing by the World Health Organization, in processed meat production.
This is set to change as representatives from the UK and the EU prepare to meet next Monday, where discussions will prioritise both countries’ rules on food safety and animal and plant health standards – and how to bring those closer to reduce friction.
Professor Chris Elliott, a food safety specialist who led the government’s response to the horsemeat scandal, claimed Brexit had caused the UK to “slip behind European food standards”.
“The addition of nitrites to processed meats is a major example of what has happened”, he said. “While the EU has sought to protect its consumers with better food safety rules, the UK has dithered, leaving British consumers at greater risk.
“It is essential the UK keeps pace with the EU’s improving food safety rules for the sake of public health.”
The Grocer understands that the issue is being discussed “at the highest levels of British government and the EU” and is set to be addressed at the UK-EU summit on 19 May.
Businesses across the spectrum have for months called for closer alignment with EU rules on food standards to ease trade and also reduce the current levels of checks on plant and animal goods at the border – also known as sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) controls.
Food industry insiders who have been involved in meetings with government in recent weeks believe the long-awaited talks between London and Brussels will finally bring forward the proposed SPS alignment.
Aligning UK nitrite usage rules with the EU’s would be a necessary requirement for striking an SPS deal, the source close to the discussions said, which would “otherwise fall apart because it would mean Britain would have looser regulations than the EU”.
Elliott has joined a group of high-profile scientists and politicians – including former Conservative health minister James Bethell and Labour’s former shadow health minister Sharon Hodgson – in a group called the Coalition Against Nitrites. It is calling for the Food Standards Agency to mirror the European Comission’s stricter limits on the use of nitrites ahead of the key UK-EU talks.
The government has maintained that the current levels of nitrites used in food processing are safe. The FSA says nitrites are “essential” to protect against botulism, an aggressive form of food poisoning.
It comes as a new JL Partners poll revealed more than two-thirds of Brits are concerned the UK is falling behind Europe on food standards – including 55% of 2024 Reform voters.
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