The UK Government’s official advice for hauliers states that it will not be possible for drivers to take cheese or ham sandwiches from the UK into the EU as of January 1st.
In an official update to its ‚Transporting goods between Great Britain and the EU from 1 January 2021: guidance for hauliers and commercial drivers‚ document, the UK Government explain the ban as follows:
From 1 January 2021 you will not be able to bring POAO (products of an animal origin) such as those containing meat or dairy (e.g. a ham and cheese sandwich) into the EU. There are exceptions to this rule for certain quantities of powdered infant milk, infant food, special foods, or special processed pet feed. Find out more on the rules and exemptions in the European Commission guidance on personal imports.
The above rules have already been in place for some time of course, but as the UK has been inside the EU single market during the transition period, they did not apply. That will all change though on January 1st as the UK will have 3rd country status with the EU.
The European Commission’s official website explains that the ban on dairy and meat products is due to the threat posed to animal health:
Personal goods containing meat, milk or their products brought into the EU continue to present a real threat to animal health throughout the Union. It is known, for example, that dangerous pathogens that cause animal diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease and classical swine fever can reside in meat, milk or their products. Therefore, pathogens could be introduced into the EU if personal goods containing meat, milk or their products are sent by post or carried in the baggage of travellers arriving from countries outside the EU, where such pathogens may be circulating.
It remains to be seen how strictly customs officers in the EU will apply the ban.
The news comes as lorry drivers working on routes between the UK and the EU are already getting stuck in jams partly caused by Brexit stockpiling. There were 5-mile-long queues in Kent yesterday, while one driver has said that 1 day return trips to the EU are now taking him 3 times as long.
Photo credits: John Baker / Geograph UK + Fancy steve / Wikimedia Commons (both images cropped)