British businesses could be forced to abandon familiar food names in favour of bureaucratic labels such as ‘cell-cultivated protein’.
Eurocrats could rename steak should Sir Keir Starmer press ahead with plans to reset the country’s relationship with Brussels, the Conservatives have warned.
Under the plans British businesses will need to adhere to dozens of new laws as No10 seeks regulatory realignment with Europe.
It comes amid mounting concern that Sir Keir and Labour will seek to unpick the result of the Brexit referendum as the ten-year anniversary of the historic vote approaches.
Labour’s position on Brexit has been thrown back into the limelight after Wes Streeting, who resigned from Cabinet in protest to Sir Keir’s leadership, said he wanted to take the country back into Europe.
Andy Burnham, who is running in the Makerfield by-election, has previously said he wants to return to Brussels, but has recently rowed back on the claim.
Now the Tories warn that Britain’s cultivated meat industry could be caught in the crossfire of Labour’s plans as companies could be forced to abandon the use of popular food names.
Brussels-made regulations ban cultivated meat producers from using familiar terms such as steak, chicken or beef when marketing their products.
Instead food tech firms need to use labels like “cell-cultivated protein preparation”.
The United Kingdom currently sits outside the EU’s single market following Brexit, which means British producers are not automatically bound by the rules.
But critics warn Labour’s EU-reset agenda could change that.
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood said Sir Keir was attempting to reopen old divisions and with his EU scheme.
He said the plan risked “stifling our emerging technology sector by forcing cultivated meat producers to replace familiar and valid terms like ‘steak’ with bureaucratic labels such as ‘cell-cultivated protein preparation’.”
Mr Wood accused Sir Keir of “attempting to reopen old divisions” in what he said was a “desperate attempt to save his premiership.”
He added: “While Labour look to the past, the Conservatives, under new leadership, are focused on Britain’s future.”
The EU ban allows for a three-year transition period, and covers a lengthy list of terms including beef, veal, pork, poultry, chicken, duck, tenderloin, ribs, wing, breast, ribeye, T-bone and bacon.
More generic terms such as burger, sausage and nugget can still be used.
The row comes as Sir Keir faces criticism over his EU reset agenda, with opponents accusing him of surrendering regulatory freedoms won through the 2016 Brexit vote.
The Daily Express is campaigning for Whitehall to ‘Give Us A Proper Brexit’ and demanding the country withdraw from the ECHR, cut up EU red tape, and impose a 12-mile exclusion zone around the UK to protect our fishing industry.
A government spokesman insisted that the approach to labelling British grown meat “is not changing” and told the Express “shoppers can be absolutely clear that in supermarkets, steak will still be labelled as steak.”
They added: “This government will always back British farmers through supporting innovation and securing an agri-food deal that could be worth up to £5.1 billion for the UK economy.”
