Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver urges Prime Minister not to undermine food standards

He wrote: “We could be about to open the floodgates to a whole raft of low-quality food that would normally be illegal in the UK.

“What is more, we will be threatening the future of our farmers and food producers who, despite extraordinary challenges, have worked so hard to keep us fed throughout the Covid-19 crisis."

Brand Britain

Mr Oliver noted some of the biggest emerging economies across the world are ‘hungry for a trusted and safe food supply’, which the UK can provide.

He said: “Brand Britain and its wealth of food producers are perfectly place to deliver, but if food standards are weakened, a race to the bottom will ensue – I believe it is a race we will lose.

“Public health will be compromised and our ability to export quality, trusted product will diminish.

“We should be striving to push trade partners’ standards up, not negotiations our own down.”

Diets

An advocate of child health for more than 20 years, Mr Oliver also expressed his concern about the impact bad trade deals could have on diets.

“Our kids will be the most vulnerable if our markets are flooded with unhealthy foods high in fat, salt and sugar,” he said.

“We have just seen that being obese or overweight made people more vulnerable to Covid-19. We absolutely must give our kids the best possible chance of making healthy choices.”