UK food regulator needed on ‘day one’ of Brexit to stop block of exports

“There is a likelihood countries and companies will seek a competitive advantage in relation to trade in food. The ability to challenge and question our regulatory regime will be part of the way they see competitive advantage.”

Ms Hancock also said the new regulator would need to be in place on day one in case ‘something goes wrong’ in the food chain.

“We need a full competence available to act in the event of there being an issue”, she added.

“We cannot start in the middle of the equivalent of the fipronil food scare saying ‘actually, there is a little bit of a flaw in the powers, and someone is not in the right position to act, or get access to information or evidence we need.’”

At its most basic, Ms Hancock said the new regulator would need to have six capabilities:

• Surveillance capacity
• Risk assessment capacity
• Risk communication skills
• Risk management skills
• Controls and processes to implement risk management decisions
• The ability to review its own work

The FSA has already received £14 million from the Treasury this year to support its EU exit planning – the full amount it requested.