Sending smoked kippers through the post to Europe along with an ice pack is not an EU rule, but a British and Isle of Man one.

Boris Johnson’s claim that the costs of sending Manx kippers through the post have been ’massively increased by Brussels bureaucrats who have insisted that each kipper must be accompanied by a plastic ice pillow’ may have been a red herring.

As the Courier reported last week, Isle of Man’s famous product hit UK headlines after the Conservative Party leadership candidate wielded one above his head during the party’s final hustings to illustrate a point about Brexit.

Now our Chief Minister has spoken to iomtoday.co.im about the issue.

Mr Johnson - who officially becomes UK prime minister today - claimed that an Isle of Man producer was ’utterly furious’ at the costs, adding that Brexit would allow Britain to ’take back control’ of its regulatory framework and boost the economy which he said ’leads the world in so many sectors’.

However, regulations by the EU cover fresh fish and not smoked.

The island’s law follows the UK with its Food Standard Agency requiring food manufacturers to export food packed in a cool bag so it ’arrives safe’ to eat, a Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture spokesman said.

At a Brussels press conference, European Commission food and safety spokesperson Anca Paduraru said: ’The case described by Mr Johnson falls outside the scope of EU legislation and is purely a UK national competence.’

Chief Minister Howard Quayle told iomtoday.co.im that at present producers were required to comply with the relevant Isle of Man legislation that is closely based on UK legislation and relevant EU food safety regulations.

’It’s the chain of command,’ he said. ’We’ve had to comply with the UK rules and regulations, but the UK will have to have complied with the EU regulations. It has increased significant costs and our people do have to comply with it.

’There will be people who will want to damage the story, to damage Boris, but from an Isle of Man point of view producers have to comply with rules that we’ve implemented, but we’ve implemented them because of the UK and the UK following the relevant EU food safety regulations.’

Mr Quayle also drew similarities between Mr Johnson’s kipper moment and a theme from a classic TV programme.

’As a massive fan of "Yes Minister", you had the infamous Jim Hacker from the political satire British sitcom who went on to be the prime minister. When he stood to be prime minister he looked at something to raise his profile and it was the British sausage coming under attack from the European Union. So I found it incredibly funny that there’s Boris waving this kipper.’

A government spokesperson added that wherever Manx goods were exported to they were ’required to comply with standards of the destination market’.

They said that until future Brexit negotiations with the EU were completed, arrangements for trade in all goods ’remain unclear’.

Current Manx rules related to the chilling of food come under the Food and Hygiene Regulations 2007 legislation in Schedule 4, paragraph 2.

The chill holding requirements state in sub-paragraph 3: ’no person shall supply by mail order any food which - (a) is likely to support the growth of pathogenic micro-organisms or the formation of toxins; and (b) is being or has been conveyed by post or by a private or common carrier to the final consumer, at a temperature which has given rise to or is likely to give rise to a risk to health.’

In sub-paragraph 1 is states that any person who keeps any food at a temperature above 8 degrees Celsius shall be guilty of an offence. This is in terms of commercial operation.