A DUP minister's disputed warning that schools and hospitals face food shortages from post-Brexit Irish Sea trade arrangements followed a briefing from a major retailer, new documents show.
Edwin Poots was accused of "scaremongering on steroids" after he warned of the risk if grace periods are not extended to limit red tape on trade flows from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
The minister at the time said he was made aware of the issue during a meeting with retailers.
Stormont notes of the meeting, seen by Belfast Live, confirm concerns were raised with Mr Poots by a representative of the Henderson Group, which runs Spar.
"Concerns regarding food service – hospitality, disruption to supply to schools, hospitals and prisons," the notes read.
The meeting on January 7 was also attended by representatives of Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, Lidl, Iceland, Supervalu, Co-op, and Marks & Spencer.
The notes, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, list concerns voiced by each retailer and comments from Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) officials.
Mr Poots faced criticism the following week after he publicly warned of a "major crisis".
He told the BBC's Nolan Show : "It was made very clear to us by the suppliers to both hospitals and schools that if the current arrangement for supermarkets isn't extended in a few months' time that they will not be able to supply our hospitals and schools with food."
Stormont's health and education departments later said they had not experienced any major disruption, while Alliance deputy leader Stephen Farry accused Mr Poots of "scaremongering on steroids".
Mr Poots has since temporarily stood down at Agriculture Minister to receive medical treatment.
The Brexit-backing DUP has called for the scrapping of the NI Protocol, which ensures an open land border with the Irish Republic but means extra checks and processes on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain.
European Union leaders have pledged to find pragmatic solutions to any trade disruption caused by the post-Brexit arrangements.
The Henderson Group, which supplies food products for schools and hospitals in Northern Ireland, said it is currently dealing with "some delays, not shortages".
A spokeswoman said: "Henderson Group has been engaging constructively with Daera and other relevant bodies to ensure disruption to the supply chain is minimised.
"This covers our Foodservice, Wholesale and Retail businesses. We are currently dealing with some delays, not shortages.
"The group has been proactively building stocks of ambient and frozen lines over the last three months that should ensure order fulfilment levels are maintained.
"We will continue to maintain higher levels of stock while trying to minimise the potential impact at the end of the three-month grace period."
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