Brexit: Driver’s sandwich confiscated at the Dutch border due to new rules

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London (CNN) – A Dutch television network has filmed border officials confiscating food, including meat sandwiches, from travelers entering the Netherlands from the UK – and blaming the post-Brexit rules.

In a segment broadcast on public broadcaster NPO 1, officials are shown explaining to a driver arriving in Hoek van Holland, home of an international ferry terminal: “Since Brexit, you are no longer allowed to bring food to Europe, such as meat , fruits, vegetables, fish – things like that. “

A driver, wrapped in aluminum foil with sandwiches, asks if he can keep the bread and part with the meat, but is told by an official: “No, everything will be confiscated. Welcome to Brexit, sir. sorry.”

Now that the UK has left the internal market and the customs union, goods crossing the border are subject to customs and other controls.

As a guide to hauliers and commercial drivers transporting goods between Great Britain and the European Union, the UK government warns drivers that they cannot bring ‘products of animal origin’ – such as products containing meat or dairy products, such as sandwiches with ham and cheese – EU.

Border officials confiscated the sandwiches, a television segment showed.

Border officials confiscated the sandwiches, a television segment showed.

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Drivers traveling to the EU should be aware of additional restrictions on personal imports, the directive reads. “If you have prohibited items in your luggage, vehicle or person, you must use, consume or dispose of them at or in front of the border,” he adds.

Dutch customs has also warned British travelers about similar restrictions and wrote on Instagram in November that from January 1: “Typical products such as cheddar, clotted cream and Scottish haggis are no longer allowed with you.”
The European Commission outlines in its guidance document: “Personal goods containing meat, milk or their products brought into the EU continue to pose a real threat to animal health across the Union.” It adds that “dangerous pathogens that cause animal diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease and classical swine fever, can be found in meat, milk or their products”.

Border personnel told NPO 1 that once the coronavirus restrictions go away, an influx of travelers could lead to longer waiting times for those entering the country.

“Look now, at the moment the volumes are, as you saw, quite small this morning – 30 cars”, Rien de Ruijter, Customs team leader, told the TV channel.

“Of course, we expect that when the Covid measures go away, those numbers will increase, and then waiting times can increase. And that can certainly cause irritation,” he added.

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