No images? Click here Dear subscriber, Welcome to our latest FSAI Brexit Ezine At the end of this month, the Brexit transition period will finish. To continue trading with the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland) from 1 January 2021, your food business will need to comply with the requirements for importing food or placing imported food on the Irish market. The FSAI is here to help with a number of Brexit resources available Join us at our next Brexit Bite webinar 'Brexit - food businesses are you ready?' on Tuesday, 15 December at 10am. In this short Brexit Bite, Anne-Marie Boland, FSAI will outline what Brexit will mean for food businesses from 1 January 2021, and will provide you with practical information on what you need to do now to make sure you are prepared. There will be an opportunity to ask Anne-Marie questions at the end of the presentation. This free event will be held online and will last 40 minutes. To register please click here
What is the legal situation at the end of the transition period?At the end of the transition period, the UK will be outside of the EU's Single Market and Customs Union. This will mean significant and lasting change, particularly for businesses moving goods to, from or through the UK, excluding Northern Ireland. The Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland means that no new procedures will apply to goods moving between Ireland and Northern Ireland. The European Commission have published a number of 'Readiness Notices' for stakeholders across a range of areas. A number of these Readiness Notices are relevant to food businesses. These include notices on:
The EU's Food Law Notice
FSAI Brexit Q&AWe recently updated and re-published our Questions and Answers: Brexit and Food Law in Ireland document which contains answers to the questions that food businesses have been asking us about how the end of the transition period will affect them. The Q&A also contains answers to questions generated as part of our Brexit Bite webinar series. This document is a live document and will be edited and updated as and when new information becomes available. Here are some of the questions food businesses have been asking about identification marks included in the Q&A. Labelling: Identification MarksMost food businesses producing food of animal origin like meat, fish, milk, cheese and foods containing these as ingredients have to be approved to carry out these activities. As part of the approval, an identification mark that is unique to the food establishment is issued. The format of the identification mark is set out in EU legislation. Both the Great Britain identification mark and the Northern Ireland identification mark will change from 1 January 2021. 1. What will the new identification mark look like? 2. What will the new identification mark for Northern Ireland look like? 3. If I produce a food of animal origin before 1 January 2021 and apply the current UK identification mark, can this food product be supplied to the EU after 1 January 2021 using this identification mark? 4. Does the address on a label have to be the same establishment as that of the identification mark? 5. What identification mark needs to be used for UK food of animal origin produced from 1 January 2021? Food of animal origin produced in Northern Ireland from 1 January 2021 and placed on the market in Ireland must have the new Northern Ireland identification mark. 6. What about food of animal origin on the market in Northern Ireland before the end of the transition period? Check out more answers to Brexit questions in our Questions and Answers: Brexit and Food Law in Ireland. FSAI Brexit ResourcesWe have a number of free resources available to help you prepare your food business for Brexit. Visit the FSAI's Brexit Resources page to find all our food business resources in one place. Brexit Readiness Action PlanOn 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, at the end of this month, 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 changes 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. Look out for future FSAI Brexit Ezines. You can change your preferences or unsubscribe at any time using the links at the bottom of the email. |