The UK\u2019s historic Brexit vote<\/a> may have been almost a decade ago, but the fall out has rumbled on interminably<\/a> \u2013 now, EU rules on oat production are the latest flashpoint threatening to undermine government efforts to work with the bloc.<\/p>\n Ministers are said to be engaged in a battle to save the humble oatcake, as Keir Starmer\u2019s government seeks to reset relations with the EU<\/a>.<\/p>\n UK efforts to realign agricultural policy with Brussels means that British oats could fall foul of regulations for being too mouldy \u2013 containing too high a level of mycotoxins \u2013 which proliferate in crops like oats when they are grown in damper coastal climates like Britain\u2019s.<\/p>\n Farming groups raised concerns last year following the introduction by the European Commission of restrictions on mycotoxin levels in foods sold in the EU. <\/p>\n Consumed at high levels, mycotoxins can be damaging to human health. As well as cereal crops, they can be found in nuts and dried fruits, and eaten in large quantities can lead to various adverse health effects, including kidney and liver damage, immune suppression, and have been linked to cancer. <\/p>\n The concern for British farmers is that during damp, warm seasons, much of Britain\u2019s oat harvest risks being condemned as unfit for human consumption under these EU rules, rendering the crop unsellable. <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n The EU has turned up the heat on UK oats, angering farmers (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n However, a 2014 Food Standards Agency study found that while trace toxins were detectable across a broad range of oat\u2011based foods, the levels sat comfortably \u201cbelow the tolerable daily intake\u201d.<\/p>\n The UK\u2019s own rules on mycotoxin levels were reviewed following the European Commission\u2019s changes last year, and found current guidance to be adequate.<\/p>\n Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers Union, has described the reset with the EU as a \u201cthreat\u201d, should the UK become subject to tighter rules.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/iStock-182393698.jpg\")
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