How the cheese ban drove a new wedge between the UK and the EU
European consumers face higher prices when they go to the supermarket.
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Relations between the UK and the European Union have been contentious since the Brexit vote in 2016 but the neighbors are currently in a cold front over a ban on continental cheese and meat imports.
In April, Britain banned people from bringing all dairy products and many types of meat from the European Union into the country for personal consumption, saying the ban was necessary to prevent the possible spread of foot-and-mouth disease to British livestock following an outbreak in Europe earlier this year.
British holidaymakers traveling to the continent were warned not to bring home foods such as cheese, chorizo, Serrano ham or sandwiches. A wide range of prohibited productsEven if it is sealed or purchased at airport duty-free shops. The ban applies to cakes, biscuits and chocolate containing high levels of unprocessed dairy products or fresh cream.
Those found with contraband were told they would have to surrender at the border or face confiscation and destruction. Violators of the ban could face a £5,000 fine (about $6,700), the government said.
The Brits’ ban does not apply to commercial food imports because they have more stringent biosecurity requirements such as heat treatment and veterinary health certificates, the UK said.
Cheese shops in Paris – and particularly those around the Gare du Nord where Eurostar trains travel to and from the UK – say the restrictions have hit significant consumer sales.
“Tourists are very important, and especially English people,” Alexandre Villaca, founder and manager of Fromagerie Ferdinand in Paris, told CNBC, adding that he chose the Gare du Nord neighborhood for international visitors when he opened his cheese shop eight years ago.
“Over the years, it was very important to have English customers. We vacuum packed the cheeses so they could easily travel to the UK, and we started getting regular customers who would drop by our shop to bring some gifts for families and friends… But a few months ago, customers told me that it was forbidden to bring the cheese back home,” he said.
“And this has had a huge impact on our sales to UK customers,” he added.
A cheesemonger working in a cheese store in Paris, France in 2022.
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Villaca said the ban was largely absurd given that French authorities were “very, very strict” about sanitary controls and regular inspections of cheese producers, their products and their distribution. He noted that those working with English cheese producer Vilaka were also upset by the ban.
“When clients take home some souvenirs, maybe some wine, some cheese – a little bit of France in their bag, we feel proud. So we don’t understand (the ban), we’re very upset and it’s bad news because it’s not very good for business.”
Why the ban?
Temporary bans on continental food entering or leaving the UK, or vice versa, are nothing new, and it’s worth noting that the EU introduced a permanent ban on bringing animal and dairy products into the bloc for personal consumption after Brexit for the same reasons: to prevent the spread of diseases.
Foot and mouth disease, or FMD, is a serious concern for a contiguous continent like the EU because it can spread so quickly, especially given the region’s interconnected agricultural markets and multiple transmission routes.
FMD does not pose a threat to humans but is highly contagious to cattle, sheep and pigs, the disease is able to spread rapidly among livestock, with devastating consequences.
Outbreaks of FMD were confirmed in Germany, Hungary and Slovakia earlier this year but were contained after countries rapidly implemented animal health control measures in affected establishments, including livestock and protection and surveillance zones.
Taking no chances: Cars pass through a disinfection checkpoint set up on the border between Hungary and Slovakia on March 28, 2025 in Medvedov, Slovakia. The country declared a state of emergency after several cases of foot-and-mouth disease in the region, including a new outbreak found in Hungary near the Slovak border near Bratislava.
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Those emergency measures were lifted after Germany Declared FMD free in April, and Hungary and Slovakia have seen no new outbreaks since April.
In late July, the UK government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said in an assessment That “the incursion of FMD into Europe earlier in the year was undoubtedly related, but there have been no further reports since April, suggesting that the situation in Hungary and Slovakia is under control.”
While the report’s authors said the risk of FMD entering the UK in July was considered a ‘low (rare but possible)’ risk, the report cautioned that FMD may not be detected for several months.
The UK government told CNBC that, despite containing European FMD outbreaks, the ongoing ban on individual imports of cheese and many meats is to protect British farmers and UK food security.
“Earlier this year, we took immediate action to ban individual imports of meat and dairy products from Europe. Following the foot and mouth incidents we are investing £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in a new National Biosecurity Center to boost our world-leading facilities and protect our farmers, food supply and economy,” a Defra spokesperson told CNBC.
The spokesperson added, “We will do whatever it takes to protect our farmers from animal diseases.
Almost six months have passed since the ban, and questions are being asked as to whether the current restrictions are excessive and no longer necessary.
Defra stressed it was not alone in enforcing the current restrictions, and was simply doing what the EU had been doing for years, since Brexit, as standard practice.
Asked when the ban might be lifted, given that cases of FMD are now contained to the continent, Defra said the government’s “FMD response is under constant review” and that it would “maintain restrictions in England if individual imports of affected products pose biosecurity risks to Great Britain.”
hard lessons
The UK and EU have learned the hard way what FMD outbreaks can be.
Cows of Briar Cattle Farm are pictured on a farm near Budapest on March 11, 2025. Hungary reported its first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in more than 50 years on 7 March 2025 in a cattle farm near the Slovak border. The country’s food safety agency introduced stricter measures to prevent further spread of the disease, including a ban on the movement of susceptible species.
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The 2001 epidemic, which first broke out in the UK before spreading to the continent, had a devastating impact on the British farming community, killing more than 6 million animals and costing the UK public and private sector a combined £8 billion.
In the EU, it is estimated that four million animals died and the outbreak cost member states 2.7 trillion euros With regard to eradication measures and compensation to farmers.
The last UK outbreak, in 2007, only Eight farms affected But it was The cost is estimated at £147 million Overall, due to ban on large scale livestock movement.
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