Both businesses and consumers have concerns about new European food packaging rules that are being discussed in Brussels this week. The move would see British packaging standardised within Europe's metric system, with the result that a 'pint of milk' would be reduced to half a litre, and a traditional sliced loaf of bread would no longer be available in the 'small' and 'large' sizes we're used to.

Consumers are worried they'll end up being ripped off as a result of the new rules, with prices staying the same even though portion sizes have got smaller. And businesses are understandably anxious about the impact their disgruntlement might have on sales. As well as the amount of time and confusion that the new rules will cause, there are concerns that changing packaging sizes will also be prohibitive for small firms.