Brexit: Northern Ireland food supply warnings 'taken seriously'

The European Commission has said it takes warnings from supermarkets about Northern Ireland's food supplies due to Brexit "very seriously".

It comes after NI's first and deputy first ministers wrote to the EU to urge flexibility in the operation of the new Irish Sea border.

There is "real threat" to food supplies if solutions are not found, they said.

From 1 January, Northern Ireland will stay in the EU single market for goods but the rest of the UK will leave.

That means some food products arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain will need to be checked.

The EU has strict rules on products of animal origin - meat, milk, fish and eggs.

These products must enter the single market through a border control post where paperwork is checked and a proportion of goods are physically inspected.

All these products must also have an export health certificate - an expensive piece of administration.

This could add substantial costs to every trailer load of supermarket goods.

In their letter to the European Commission, First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said: "It is hard to imagine a more fundamental aspect of everyday life than the purchase of daily food supplies.

"Hence we would ask you to recognise how important it is that the current consideration of the detail of how the protocol will be applied takes our unique context into account."

On Tuesday, a spokesperson said the commission was "aware, of course, of the concerns raised regarding supermarkets and the import of food products into Northern Ireland".

"We take this issue very seriously - in the same way that we are taking very seriously every single issue regarding Northern Ireland," they added.

"We are currently exploring all options available under EU law. Discussions on this will continue with our UK counterparts in the joint committee and the relevant specialised committee."

The European Commission has said it will reply to the first and deputy first ministers shortly.

In a post on social media on Tuesday, Mrs Foster said it was "not reasonable" for the EU to insist that certain goods coming into NI from GB could be deemed "at risk", and put food supplies in NI at risk.

Last week, supermarket chain Sainsbury's warned it could reduce its ranges of meat, fish and dairy products in Northern Ireland.

The supermarkets have been advancing the idea of a form of trusted-trader scheme which would reduce the need for new checks and controls.

Last week senior civil servants in Northern Ireland's suggested some of the new checks could happen in ports in Great Britain.

However, all these mitigating measures would need to be agreed by the EU and that has not yet happened.