What impact would the traceability requirements have on small businesses and catering establishments?
There seems little doubt that the impact of these proposals on trade outside the EU and on small businesses and catering establishments will be significant. The requirements will increase the complexity and cost of small business operation, withoperators in all groups and businesses involved in the production, purchasing and utilisation chain (including catering companies) having to maintain all necessary records relating to traceability and product identity. This is likely to be met by increased food costs to the consumer. What are the practical constraints of the requirements and what are the cost implications? The proposals for labelling and traceability will add an additional layer of bureaucracy to the operation of the food chain and the long-term reliability and practicality of the process need to be considered. Storage, transport and shipping of grain from the US involves millions of tonnes and the scale of production may prove problematic for the records of all grain batches to
