Sort of: this week will see inspections of some goods. But the hit to businesses and inflation will be inescapableWhen Michael Gove announced the first delay to post-Brexit checks on plant and animal products coming into the UK from the EU, he was keen to make one thing clear.“Although we recognise that many in the border industry and many businesses...

Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks were due to start next week but committee raises concerns over delays to planMPs have cast doubt over the UK government’s readiness for post-Brexit border control checks, which are due to come in next week, arguing that a scaling back of its plans appeared to represent a sixth delay to their long-awaited introduction.The...

Scheme for plastic bottles and cans put back to 2027 while environment minister says glass recycling ‘unduly’ complex A UK deposit return scheme for recycling drinks bottles has been delayed to 2027, meaning it will not be in place until almost a decade after it was proposed.Campaigners say the delay is a “huge disappointment”, adding they are doubly...

Industry’s sugar substitute E961 can have ‘toxic effect on health’, says study finding sweetener capable of damaging intestinal bacteriaA sweetener used in cakes, soft drinks and chewing gum can seriously damage people’s health by weakening the gut, a new study has found.Consumption of even a small amount of the sweetener neotame can lead to someone...

ABF, which also owns Dorset Cereals, says it is not yet planning rises but it may need to import ‘quite a lot’ of grainOne of the UK’s biggest bread makers has warned of potentially higher prices as it expects “very small” grain harvests in the UK, making the company more reliant on imports.George Weston, the head of Associated British Foods (ABF),...

Innovative Bites Ltd wins case brought by UK tax authority after its ‘mega’ product deemed to be an ‘ingredient’A food company has won a sweet-tasting victory against the UK tax authorities after a court decided that it did not have to pay VAT on its marshmallows because they were not confectionery.HMRC’s appeal against a 2022 decision by the first...