Dutch police officers laugh at the British truck driver when they confiscated his ham sandwiches

Dutch police officers sparked anger after the office was filmed laughing at a British truck driver as officers seized the man’s ham sandwiches in accordance with post-Brexit import regulations.

“Welcome to Brexit, sir,” says one of the officers mockingly in the video of the incident, while the driver asks, “Can you take the meat and leave me the bread?”

Footage from Dutch television showed border guards seizing sandwiches and other food from drivers entering the Netherlands from the UK.

The EU does not allow meat, meat products, milk or dairy products to be imported from outside the Union for “personal consumption”.

After the UK left the EU on January 1, the rules now apply to people crossing the Channel.

But the border official’s strict stance on the newly imposed rules has been called “pathetic nit-picking” by a leading Brexiteer.

“The whole story literally smells like a sandwich just before a picnic,” Andrew Bridgen MP told MailOnline.

“As the Dutch know, like everyone else in the EU, we have the highest food standards in Europe.

A well-known Eurosceptic, Mr Bridgen spent 22 years in the food industry before entering Parliament in 2010.

“I mean, this will be the way it is, then they will really go through the truck driver’s lunch box to go through customs for something that will create any danger.

“We have to talk to the European Union about which is really quite pathetic. Otherwise this will not be good for the Dutch ports, the freight forwarders will go elsewhere. ‘

Pictured: a film still image showing Dutch police officers seizing food from a UK truck driver. They hold up the man’s fouled ham sandwiches and tell him the sandwiches must be confiscated because they contain ham

“Welcome to Brexit, sir,” says one of the officers in the video of the incident when the driver asks, “Can you take the meat and leave me the bread?”

Dutch officials can be heard in the footage explaining the new post-Brexit rules for drivers entering the EU. These prohibit bringing in certain foods originating in the UK.

“It’s been you since Brexit [no longer allowed] certain foods to Europe, ”a border official at the Hook of Holland seaport told Dutch NPO television.

The footage shows officials rummaging around in people’s vehicles, holding up any food they find in them. They say they must be confiscated.

When the driver, coming from the ferry from the UK, asks the officers if he can wrap the bread on his ham sandwiches in aluminum foil, the officers are heard saying, “No, everything will be confiscated – welcome to Brexit, sir. I am sorry.’

The UK Government’s guidance for drivers traveling to EU countries reads: “As of January 1, 2021, you will not be able to use POAO (products of animal origin) such as meat or dairy products (e.g. a ham and cheese sandwich) bring more the EU. ‘

Andrew Bridgen MP criticized strict enforcement as “pathetic nit-picking”

Pictured: the driver’s ham sandwiches wrapped in foil. Under the new rules imposed on Britain after it left the EU, meat and dairy products cannot be brought into the EU from the UK for personal consumption

When the driver asked the officers if he could only keep the bread from his aluminum foil wrapped ham sandwiches, the officer said, “No, everything will be confiscated – welcome to Brexit, sir. I am sorry’

Since the UK officially left the EU on January 1, 2021, more serious food supply problems have emerged. There are gaps in the fruit and vegetable shelves of supermarkets as there is a warning that supplies from ports in ports will be restricted by Brexit.

Lettuce, cauliflower boxes, oranges, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are among the fresh products listed as “out of stock” on the Tesco website.

Several of the UK’s leading food companies have highlighted the complexity of the rules of origin enshrined in the Brexit trade agreement.

This means that only goods made up of products originating in the UK are considered duty free. Steve Rowe, CEO of Marks & Spencer, said last week, “Duty Free doesn’t feel duty free when you read the fine print.”

Meanwhile, food industry experts and Brexit cabinet minister Michael Gove have warned that problems in the ports are likely to escalate from today