Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that food safety standards remain closely aligned with the EU after the UK leaves the EU.

The United Kingdom Government’s priority is to maintain the UK’s high standards of food and feed safety, and to ensure we take a risk-based, proportionate approach that prioritises the interests and protection of consumers. A range of solutions are being investigated to ensure that from day one, food is as safe as it is now.

On 12 July the UK Government published a White Paper setting out a clear proposal for the future relationship we want to build with the European Union. The Government is proposing the establishment of a free trade area for goods, enabled by a common rulebook for goods including agri-food, covering only those rules necessary to provide for frictionless trade at the border. Maintaining a robust and effective regulatory regime for ensuring the safety of food remains a top priority as the UK prepares to leave the EU.