British oatcake could possibly be banned by Brussels diplomats as a part of Keir Starmer’s reset cope with the European Union

Ministers are battling to save Britain’s humble oatcake as Sir Keir Starmer pushes ahead with a reset deal with the European Union. 

Labour‘s efforts to realign the UK with European agricultural standards means the national favourite may contain levels of naturally-occurring mould that are deemed too high for human consumption under strict existing EU rules. 

As a result, the beloved savoury biscuit could be axed if ministers do not manage to negotiate an exemption from EU rules – in what is being dubbed a repeat of Brexit ‘sausage wars’. 

Last year, farming groups raised concerns when the European Commission introduced limits on the level of ‘mycotoxins’, which are a type of naturally occurring mould, on products sold in the EU. 

Mycotoxins are only harmful to humans if consumed at high levels.

But much of the UK’s oat harvest risks being rendered unsellable under these harsh EU rules, as mycotoxin levels are much higher in crops grown in damp coastal climates like Britain’s.

Pictured: the humble British oatcake, enjoyed with humous and cucumber here

The Minister for EU relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds (pictured) is reportedly negotiating with the EU directly on the issue

The potential ban comes despite a Food Standards Agency study in 2014 showing that although mycotoxins were present at low levels in a wide range of oat-based food stuffs sold in the UK, they were ‘well below the tolerable daily intake’.

In response to the potential ban, the UK’s committee on toxicity reconfirmed after a review that existing advice on mycotoxin still stood and the UK’s existing health-based rules were sufficient. 

Nick Thomas-Symonds, the minister for EU relations, has apparently raised the issue with the EU and is negotiating directly. 

The UK is reported to want an exemption from the strict EU rules, as well as a number of other opt-outs regarding farming issues.

The president of the National Farmers Union, Tom Bradshaw, said the union was urging ministers to hold firm on their stance. 

He told the Times: ‘The EU’s decision to change their regulations on mycotoxins is a significant threat to British cereal farmers. 

‘Already, as a result of this decision, if you have a wet year then that could limit exports of cereal crops like oats to the EU, and products made with oats like oatcakes. 

‘We have urged ministers to raise this with the EU as a matter of urgency in the negotiations to ensure that the UK has an opt-out to comply with the existing standards that are safe for consumers and more appropriate for the UK’s climatic conditions.’

Tory peer Lord David Frost, the UK’s former chief Brexit negotiator, told the Mail: ‘This shows how risky the Government’s ‘reset’ is for the UK food sector.

‘There is no point in having new trade rules if you can’t trade because your company has been driven out of business by risk-averse EU regulation.

‘The Government’s approach will squeeze out innovation and weaken ambitious British food producers well into the future.’

The negotiations have parallels to the famous ‘sausage wars’ of Brexit, whereby the EU threatened to stop British sausages from being sold in Northern Ireland over their breaching of Brussels regulations on the sale of raw meat. 

The sausage wars came to an end after the EU eventually backed down after the UK promised to label packets ‘not for EU’ on them.