Button wrote:Well actually, I guess someone's assessed the risk to UK health posed by produce reared/grown in the EU Single Market is low, or at least no higher than when we were happy to be a part of it.
Bit of a misunderstanding, Button. Produce of every type is checked at its point of entry into the EU. So for foodstuffs, all sanitory and phytosanitary checks (for plants) would have been done for anything for onward consignment to the UK.
So your container load of horsemeat (OK - I exaggerate possibly) arriving at Rotterdam from Columbia for a consignee in the UK would have been verified to meet EU standards, most of which we played a large part in establishing. Now it will be waived through because we are no longer in the single market or customs union. If we don't inspect the contents, we don't know what is entering our market.
Don't tell the Cap'n. He'll only get more confused.