Ms Christine Tacon:

There have been very few. I have a feeling there was one, which is why I have been around this loop, but I cannot remember what it was and it was not anything major. I tend to run things across the desks of retailers sometimes, just to make them aware this could be an issue and to think about what would happen if it got bigger. Some people have felt that some of the retailers have been going through third parties in other countries, such as Italy, to try to avoid being covered by the code. The retailers have been denying this, saying this was not the reason they did it.

There was another question on whether the code would be strong enough after Brexit. I think so but the code was never written to do things such as protect food standards or deal with animal welfare or child exploitation. These things do not fall under the code. I do not know what it goes under but it is not under the code. I hope it will be covered by other areas. The UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has said there will not be any slippage of standards but we shall wait and see. The code is much more about how suppliers are treated in terms of their agreements. It does not cover the nuances of welfare and health and safety. I hope they will be covered elsewhere.