Key takeaways:
- French border officials will reportedly stop entering trailers carrying hanging meat.
- Drivers may be required to move selected carcases to the trailer doors from August.
- Loads could be rejected where nobody is available to prepare the meat for inspection.
- Hauliers say drivers may lack the training, equipment or insurance needed to handle carcases safely.
The change was reported by The Grocer, which obtained guidance circulated by French border control officials. According to the publication, inspectors will no longer enter the back of lorries carrying hanging meat after an official was injured by a falling carcase.
From the beginning of August, carcases selected for inspection will instead have to be brought to the trailer doors by the driver or another person accompanying the consignment.
Where nobody is willing or able to carry out the task, the load could be refused entry and returned to the UK, the guidance reportedly states.
Hauliers warn drivers may be unable to comply
The Road Haulage Association warned that hundreds of vehicles could potentially be affected by the change. The organisation said drivers may not be trained, equipped or authorised to handle hanging meat inside refrigerated trailers.
The requirement could prove particularly difficult where trailers are tightly loaded or where drivers collect sealed units without taking part in the loading process.
According to The Grocer, hauliers were given only limited notice of the new procedure, leaving operators and exporters little time to make alternative arrangements.
The change also raises questions over whether responsibility for preparing a consignment for inspection is being transferred from border officials to transport companies and their drivers.
Refused consignments may have to return to Britain
Products of animal origin entering the European Union from Great Britain are subject to checks at designated Border Control Posts. The reported French guidance states that consignments may be rejected where the selected carcases are not made available for inspection at the trailer doors.
In such cases, the vehicle could be required to return to Britain with the load.
For operators, that would create additional delays and costs, particularly for temperature-controlled consignments with limited shelf lives. However, the extent of the disruption will depend on how consistently the guidance is applied and what arrangements exporters put in place before August.
Scope of the rule remains unclear
It is not yet clear whether the procedure will apply at every French Border Control Post or only at certain inspection facilities.
Questions also remain over which meat products and loading configurations are covered, and whether trained loading staff could be provided at border facilities instead of requiring drivers to enter the trailer.
