STORY: An upmarket food store in London makes for an unlikely front line.

But shops like Panzer's Delicatessen say they feel under attack... by bureaucrats.

Three years after Britain left the EU's single market, new border control checks are due to begin at the end of the month.

Deli boss David Josephs says that's going to make an already bad situation worse:

"It's created bureaucracy - a huge range of bureaucracy, a whole empire has been built as a result of Brexit, which is totally uncalled for. We now have to register paperwork 24 hours to 48 hours in advance of shipping, whereas before we could have it within hours and just ship the goods."

EU exporters of many foodstuffs and other products already have to provide health certificates for their produce.

That may not be a problem for big firms importing in bulk.

But smaller UK retailers say it can delay the arrival of goods by weeks, and make little orders all but impossible.

From April 30 the products will also be subject to physical checks at border posts.

The government says that will help stop diseases and pests entering the country.

But many retailers fear it will just add to delays.

Italian food dealer Nick Carlucci says some meat importers have told him it may not be viable to keep supplying the UK.

And he says there will be another impact too:

"Unfortunately, we do have to pass on the costs, we can't absorb all these costs that just keep coming out of thin air. We do our best to absorb as much as we can, but we have to pass it on to our customers, which are farm shops, food shops and delis and unfortunately, they have to pass it on to the final consumer."

After the new checks come in, he says importing one pallet of varied meats will cost an extra 432 pounds - or $537 - compared with before Brexit.

He says the costs could hammer his profit margin by 10%.

Now his firm is stockpiling, afraid of bottlenecks at key gateways like the Port of Dover on the south coast.

However, the government says it will take a "pragmatic approach", and says it does not anticipate major disruption.

Ministers estimate the new rules will increase food inflation by just 0.2% over three years.