Food law | UK Regulatory Outlook for May 2024 – Osborne Clarke

What the general elections mean for food law

The upcoming general elections scheduled for July 4 mean the dissolution of parliament on May 30. As a result, any legislation that was not adopted in the last summary period will no longer be taken into account. It is not certain whether the newly elected government will reintroduce these laws, as there is no obligation to do so.

While media attention has focused on primary legislation that will not be passed, there is also a number of secondary legislation and regulations that were also due to be introduced in Parliament but have not yet been introduced. In the case of food law, some of the most important ones are:

• Regulatory framework under the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 – work on new regulations was ongoing but had not been published or introduced in Parliament.
• Draft Retail Goods Labeling Regulations 2024 – these provisions have not yet been introduced to the Parliament. They were published in draft form together with consultations (which we wrote about) and were intended to extend the requirement to use “No for the EU” labels under the Windsor Framework for agri-food products intended for the UK market from October 1, 2024.
• Wine reforms – as we reported last month, the government has announced its intention to continue reforms in this area, and the third stage of consultations will end on May 10, 2024. These reforms will now have to be put on hold as it will not be possible to introduce new regulations.

For all the above issues, we will have to wait to see what the new government intends to do in these areas. We will provide further updates on this topic. Read more about the washing period in our Statistics.

FSA is developing two novel uses for CBD products in food

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has made progress on novel food applications for two products containing cannabidiol (CBD), moving them from the risk assessment phase to the risk management phase. This came after the FSA concluded that both medicines were safe under their proposed conditions of use.

One application is for a synthetic CBD product for use as a dietary supplement in the form of oil sold in capsules and drops at a dose of 10 mg CBD per day (as per the provisional acceptable daily dose published by the FSA) and the other is for CBD isolate (with a purity equal to or greater than 98 %), which is intended for use as an ingredient of dietary supplements, drinks and confectionery products for adults.

The reports will now be further analyzed. Although the FSA has not given an exact date for receiving full authorisation, it has been reported that the FSA intends to issue full authorizations for CBD products in the UK under Art. These latest developments mark an exciting time for those looking to introduce CBD products to the UK market.

The government is abandoning plans for mandatory eco-labels on food and drinks

In a strategy paper published on April 23, ‘FDTP: towards consistent, accurate and accessible environmental impact quantification for the agri-food industry’, Defra confirmed that ‘The Government has no current plans to introduce mandatory eco-labelling or to support an existing or new eco-labelling schemeShe added that there was limited evidence that eco-labels had an impact on in-store behavior of consumers and businesses.

The government is focusing on improving the quantification of environmental impact and the quality of data used for eco-labels. This includes developing a consistent accounting standard at the product level and identifying the best metrics to measure environmental impact, taking into account factors such as greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, land use, pollution and water use.

The paper notes that once environmental impact quantification and data quality are addressed, further development of eco-labelling methodologies, including label design and application, will be considered.

However, in the light of the upcoming general elections, it may turn out that the new government has different priorities and will decide to implement mandatory eco-labels. We will monitor this and update accordingly.

EU regulation strengthening GI legislation published in the Official Journal

The Regulation on geographical indications (GI) for wines, spirits and agricultural products was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 23 April 2024 and will apply from 13 May 2024, except for Article 10 section 4 and 5., art. 39 section 1 and art. 45, which will apply from January 1, 2025.

The new rules strengthen and protect geographical indications across the EU, including online. More information on the changes introduced by the new legislation can be found in this Regulatory Outlook.

Council adopts revised breakfast directives

The Council of the European Union has formally adopted the revised Breakfast Directives. The changes introduced can be found in the February regulatory perspective.

The directive was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on May 24 and will enter into force 20 days after its publication (June 13, 2024). ). Member States must adopt and publish the measures necessary to comply with this Directive by 14 December 2025 and apply those measures from 14 June 2026.

ASA information on ASA environmental claims in food advertising

Please see Advertising and Marketing.

ASA advert for ‘alcohol alternatives’

Please see Advertising and Marketing.