Asda’s Northern Ireland stores first to use ‘Not For EU’ labels

Asda has begun using ‘Not For EU’ labels in Northern Ireland ahead of the requirement agreed under the government’s post-Brexit deal.

Pictures showed own-brand products carrying the new labelling, which is a requirement of the Windsor Framework – the agreement landed in February between the UK and the EU to end the trade frictions caused by Boris Johnson’s controversial NI protocol.

The pictures, first reported by the BBC, come ahead of requirements in October for all GB pre-packed meat and some dairy products, such as fresh milk and cream, to be individually labelled when heading to Northern Ireland.

Labelling will eventually apply to most food goods, including fruit & veg, by July 2025. The scheme is also set to be phased in across the rest of the UK from October 2024.

The system was designed to ensure goods that are meant to stay in the UK internal market don’t wrongly make their way south of the Irish land border, which is subject to EU health and safety standards.

Spotted this Tesco pic.twitter.com/7QKmKICIuL

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Prior to the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland remained in the EU single market for goods, to allow for a free flow of trade across the southern land border.

However, it meant EU red tape applied to all GB exporters who sent goods to Northern Ireland, which led to a decrease in exports from Britain to the island of Ireland.

The new framework aims to eliminate those levels of friction on the Irish Sea. It will let GB exporters take a ‘green lane’, which is meant for NI-only trade. It is a less rigorous alternative to the red lane, which is for products that are heading to the EU single market and therefore must undergo more stringent checks.

Read more: What the Windsor Framework really means for food businesses

However, many in the retail food and drink industry have warned the new labelling requirements will be costly for businesses and could result in higher food prices in Northern Ireland supermarkets.

There has also been some concern that businesses haven’t had enough time to prepare for the changes on 1 October, which could result in some non-compliance.

British Frozen Food Federation head of technical Denise Rion told The Grocer in July the industry faced an ”uphill battle of trying to secure slots with already overstretched design houses and printers to accommodate the requirements”.

“With each piece of packaging typically taking around 100 days or more to progress through the design stages to final print, it is difficult to see just how industry will ever meet the deadlines they now face,” she said. 

“We can only trust that common sense will indeed prevail and a proportionate and risk-based approach to enforcement will be applied.”

Northern Ireland Retail Consortium director Neil Johnston also called for a “pragmatic approach” as retailers and traders adopted the new requirements.

The NIRC had been reassured that compliance from 1 October ”will be more about ‘education and upskilling’ rather than rigorous enforcement”, he told the Belfast Telegraph in an article today.

“For the supermarkets, the consumers are the priority. While they have worked closely with government about these measures, the detailed guidance was only published a few weeks ago and so it is conceivable there will be some bumps along the road.

“Consumers should be assured, however, that any disruption will be kept to a minimum.”

The government has suggested it will take a ”light touch” approach to enforcement in the early stages of the scheme.

It also pledged to provide “transitional reimbursement funding” during the first phase of the labelling scheme, though it has not confirmed how much that will be.

At a glance: the key points behind the new Northern Ireland Brexit deal

A Defra spokeswoman said: ”As set out in the Windsor Framework command paper, the government will provide transitional funding for the October 2023 labelling requirements.

“We are committed to supporting industry to prepare for October 2023 and subsequent labelling requirements. 

“We have always been clear that labelling is a proportionate and necessary means of ensuring goods moving in the green lane will only be sold to end consumers in Northern Ireland and ensures they can move without routine checks.

“We continue to work closely with and hold regular conversations with businesses so that we can prepare guidance on the operational and delivery implications of the changes.”