Dear subscriber,

Welcome to our latest FSAI Brexit Ezine.

This week marked 100 days until the end of the transition period. Food businesses need to make sure that they are ready for the changes Brexit will bring from 1 January 2021.

For up-to-date information on Brexit, visit our website at www.fsai.ie/Brexit or email Brexit@fsai.ie if you have any specific questions.

Brexit Bites - free online webinar

We have a new series of free online Brexit webinars to help you get your food business Brexit ready.

The first of our Brexit Bite series Be ready for 1 January 2021 will take place live on Wednesday 7 October at 10am.

In this short Brexit Bite, Anne-Marie Boland (FSAI) will provide you with practical information on what to do now to prepare for 1 January 2021.

Anne-Marie’s presentation will include:

An overview of food import requirements
Brexit and food labelling changes
Information on food placed on the Irish market before 1 January 2021.

There will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the presentation. This free event will be held online and will last 40 minutes.

To register please click here.

Food import eLearning module

Look out for the launch of our new free eLearning module on food import requirements.

This module will help you prepare for Brexit by bringing you step by step through the requirements for moving food or food contact materials e.g. food packaging from or through Great Britain.

At the end of the module you will:

be aware of the import requirement for your products
know who you need to register with to import your product
know the documentary requirements for your products
know what types of checks your products will have at import
know what the outcome of these checks means

By knowing the import requirements for your products, you will help to reduce the impact of Brexit on your food business.

Brexit FAQs on labelling

The FSAI receives queries from food businesses on the effect that Brexit will have on food labelling. Here are answers to some of the questions we are being asked.

Does prepacked food have to provide an EU address?

Yes. The rules regarding the labelling of food within the EU are set out in Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers. This legislation specifies that the name and EU address of the food business operator responsible for the food within the EU is required.

This name and address must be either:

the operator in the EU under whose name or business name the food is marketed, or
if that operator is not established in the EU, the name and address of the importer into the EU market.

Is the use of a web address sufficient?

The address provided on the label must be a physical address within the EU. A web address or email can be included in addition to the physical address, but not in place of it.

Can an EU and a non-EU address appear on a food label?

Yes. A non-EU address can be indicated on the label in addition to, but not in place of the EU address. The inclusion of this additional address on a label must not hide, obscure, or detract from the mandatory EU address.

Does a Northern Irish address comply with EU labelling requirements?

For food labelling purposes, the address of a food business operator established in Northern Ireland will continue to be accepted for the purposes of EU labelling. Under the terms of the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, at the end of the transition period EU food law will continue to apply to and in Northern Ireland.

Further information on the impact of Brexit on your food labels is available here.

Brexit Readiness Action Plan

On 9 September, the Government launched its Brexit Readiness Action Plan. The Action Plan supports and promotes the necessary preparations for the substantial and enduring changes that will arise at the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020. Regardless of the outcome of the EU-UK negotiations, a number of outcomes are already clear. The most significant of which is that, in less than four months, the UK will be outside the EU’s Single Market and Customs Union. Time is short and action is required now. To read the plan or to get further information, visit www.gov.ie/Brexit.

We will continue to keep you updated and provide information and advice on the steps you need to take to be prepared for 1 January 2021.

Look out for future FSAI Brexit Ezines.

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