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Read that headline, and read it again. Few things sum up the maddening bureaucracy created by Brexit than this. Dozens of British cheesemakers saw their dreams go up in smoke this weekend, after their entries to the World Cheese Awards were held up by customs.
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The blame has been landed squarely at the feet of Brexit, by two people heavily involved in the imports process. John Farrand, a Director at the Guild of Fine Food, says that the hold-up ‘would not have been a thing’ before the UK left the European Union.
These sentiments were echoed by James Grant, co-founder of the Real Cheese Project and a judge at this year’s awards. In comments shared with The Observer, he lashed out at ‘Brexit red tape’ and branded the entire affair ‘devastating and sad’.
“Exporting cheese has become more challenging, with the increase of bureaucracy and red tape [due to Brexit]. So this is really devastating. In fact, it’s all just really, really sad. This was a hammer blow for both the UK and the industry as a whole” | James Grant
Between 60 to 70 separate cheesemakers are thought to have been affected by the customs hold-up. The event, taking place in Portugal this year, was prepared to host over 250 different cheese submissions from the UK. However, none of them were able to clear this hurdle.
The UK last won the World Cheese Awards in 2017, with a Cornish Kern taking home the coveted prize. Grant also lamented that the opportunity to ‘change lives overnight’ had been robbed from the British contingent, who had worked tirelessly in the build-up.
“Hundreds of British cheesemakers have worked so hard and are so proud of what they do. They are putting handmade artisan cheese back on the map. If we’d had a winner at these awards, it would have changes lives overnight.” | James Grant
