George Eustice was being deceptive on TV. I have read the Fisheries section of the TCA and undepurated shellfish export isn’t mentioned. This omission means the UK would abide by current EU regulations if it isn’t in Exit Legislation...
1/6
Eustice claims the EU “said” there wouldn’t be an issue with exports like it was an agreement they had whilst chatting over a pint. And he said they said there are Export Health Certificates which would cover unpurified bivalves...
2/6
He is either lying or ignorant. The only EHC which covers bivalves specifies they need to be purified or fit for human consumption. There’s no ambiguity on this certificate...
3/6
And no Health Officer would sign an EHC to allow export of my oysters which have not been purified and are therefore not legally safe to eat yet. Eustice is being absurd suggesting there was a ‘one size fits all solution’ which Europe ‘said’ was fine
4/6
This issue is not about public health. It is about industry warning that there would be huge problems if Govt didn’t acknowledge and fix them. Apparent Gentleman’s Agreements isn’t governance. There needed to be adequate bio security measures agreed on paper
5/6
The TCA didn’t cover this issue so quite simply it fell into Third Country rules even though Eustice was warned and now he is blaming others for his apathy and ignorance.
6/6
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The phrase, ‘EU shellfish ban,’ keeps being used by news outlets and it’s important to understand how this language is misleading and how Government is deliberately using misinformation to hide from its own failures...
1/10
As a producer of live animals (oysters) who sells them on for human consumption, there are, quite rightly, rigorous standards we must meet to ensure what we sell is safe for people to eat. One of the most important factors in this process...
2/10
is the issue of water quality. If water quality is really poor (high amounts of sewage or rubbish dumped), animals like oysters will absorb the dangerous bacteria and make them unsafe to harvest. There are 3 grades of water quality for shellfish production
3/10
Brexit is impacting every aspect to our business in very significant ways. We usually buy wooden boxes from France (pictured) as they are robust, look good and are the traditional choice for packaging oysters... 1/6
Massive complications have emerged though in trying to import boxes in 2021. The haulier who usually transports them can only get customs clearance in France. We would need to find an agent in the UK to do UK clearance. But...
2/6
This haulier (who has many years experience) had no suggestion who we could approach to obtain import clearance. Clearances alone will add £200 to the cost of getting these boxes. Plus...
3/6