The measure affects travelers and commercial imports, applying to Britain and autonomous islands, excluding northern Ireland. The ban includes various types of meat and dairy products, with some exceptions, and provides fines for offenders.
The British government has temporarily banned travelers from the European Union (EU) countries to bring to the UK meat products to avoid the spread of foot -and -mouth disease among domestic cattle.
The measure, which also restricts commercial imports, entered into force on Saturday and affects the territory of Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and the autonomous islands of Jersey, Guernsey and Man, but not the northern Ireland, which remains part of the EU’s unique EU market following the EU UK exit.
According to the new rule, which will remain in force until new order, the entry of beef, sheep, goat and pork and dairy products, according to the government’s ‘website’, will be prohibited.
Thus, “it will be illegal for travelers from all EU countries that enter Britain bring articles such as sandwiches, cheese, sausages, raw meats or milk”, whether “packed or purchased at stores” at airports.
The few exceptions include “a limited amount of milk for babies, medicinal foods and certain compound products such as chocolate, sweets, bread, cakes, cookies and pasta,” the government says.
People who are found with these products “should be delivered to the border or will be confiscated and destroyed” and, in severe cases, can be fined up to 5,000 pounds (5,800 euros), but only in England.
The United Kingdom had already banned such products from Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria, in response to confirmed cases of foot -and -mouth disease, and is now widening the prohibition to the entire EU due to the increased risk of contagion.
The executive explains that “although foot-and-mouth disease does not represent any risk to humans and cases have not been recorded in the United Kingdom, it is a highly contagious viral disease that affects cattle, sheep, pigs and other biungulated animals such as boar, deer, slams and alpacas.”
“The outbreak on the continent is a significant risk to agricultural explorations and cattle” and can cause significant economic losses, he says.
