Excessive compliance

More excessive compliance is now in place to protect the consumer and brand reputation. However, the proposed rules are seen to be overstating the risk for fresh produce packhouses. To expand, products considered low-risk will have to be treated the same regarding the type of auditing required as higher-risk products. The rules must be practical and proportionate to the safety risks in the production process, and over-complicated compliance could make the UK less appealing to exporters. We may be seen as too high maintenance and often more expensive, inevitably leading to supply shortages.

Instead, AI and well-designed product testing could be more effective at ensuring procedural consistency and recognising errors than human intervention. Additionally, devising standards based on provenance and individual products rather than prescribed controls focused on the food industry's higher-hazard areas. This would make more effective use of financial resources and increase transparency, providing greater protection for consumers and brands through effective risk management.