British food manufacturers are facing millions of pounds of extra costs when new food export rules begin in April. The new legislation from the EU covers a multitude of products, including chocolate biscuits, cakes, and cereals. This legislation is expected to increase the volume of UK export paperwork by up to a third.

Additionally, any ‘shelf-stable composite products’ – items which contain meat, pasteurised milk, and egg products – will require a vet-stamped export health certificate. Other products which contain cheese powder, such as cheese and onion crisps, will require an ‘attestation document’ detailing the source of the cheese within the flavouring.

Vet capacity will need to be increased in order to certify exports, as well as millions of pounds to help smaller businesses who cannot afford this increase in administrative costs. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have not yet published the details of the new export rules and many businesses are completely unaware of new restrictions.

Luke spoke on Sunday Politics about this issue, which you can watch in the video above.