The NFU warned Britain had been left for years without proper checks and balances on food imports from EU.

If an agreement is not found, Northern Ireland faces potentially losing access to an estimated 51% of veterinary medicines, including vaccines for zoonotic diseases such as salmonella and leptospirosis, as well as insulin for dogs and cats and flu and tetanus vaccines for horses.

Expert coalition urges ministers to abandon ‘behind closed doors’ trade policy and include public health and green voices on its trade commission.

Concerns grow that post-Brexit trade deals could lead to further decline in quality as battery farm eggs are reintroduced.

Hospital admissions for salmonella and E coli have reached their highest level in decades.