LONDON — Banned snacks have been pulled from sale in the Eurostar departures area at Brussels Midi station after warnings they could breach United Kingdom biosecurity rules.
Since April, it has been illegal to carry foods like cured meats, cheese and milk into Britain from the European Union in a bid to stop the spread of foot-and-mouth disease to British farms.
But POLITICO this week reported that the duty free shop in the departures area was still selling EU pork products that could land travelers with a £5,000 fine if brought into Great Britain.
The retail outlet, which Eurostar said is managed by Belgian public railway company SNCB, is only accessible to London-bound passengers.
British pig farmers described the revelations as “alarming” amid concerns that a foot-and-mouth outbreak could ruin U.K. agriculture.
On Friday, following the publication of the POLITICO report, a spokesperson for Eurostar said the products had been removed.
“Following the UK Government’s decision to ban the import of meat and dairy products from the EU, Eurostar has communicated the new regulations to customers on its website and placed clear signage at relevant departure points,” they said.
“The Eurostar terminal and retail concessions at Brussels-Midi are owned and managed by SNCB (and not by Eurostar). They have confirmed these products have now been withdrawn.”
SNCB has been contacted for comment.
The controls, launched on April 12, are “critical to limit the risk of foot-and-mouth disease incursion,” according to the U.K.’s deputy chief veterinary officer for international and trade affairs, Dr. Jorge Martin-Almagro.
The shop, which sold items including a 40-pack of cured sausages, is five meters from a U.K. Border Force post where British border officials are permanently stationed checking passports.
A U.K. government spokesperson said: “This government will do whatever it takes to protect British farmers from foot-and-mouth disease. We are working closely with Border Force, ports, airports and international travel operators, to increase awareness of the new restrictions including via prominent signs.”
The ban on personal imports was introduced following the detection of foot-and-mouth cases in Hungary and Germany earlier this year. But experts have warned that U.K. health officials lack the funds to enforce the rules, as POLITICO reported in April.
A 2001 outbreak in the U.K. saw 6 million cows and sheep slaughtered on farms and restrictions on access to the countryside introduced in a bid to halt the spread of the disease.
The estimated cost of the episode to the British economy was £8 billion.
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