G7’s food policy menu - G7 leaders met in Cornwall and pledged to take action to reduce food waste, discussed the linkage between food and climate change, and revitalised global action on food safety and security.
 
British Whisky and biscuits – on to Australia! - On 15^th June, the UK and Australia announced their agreement on a trade deal that will eliminate many tariffs between both parties. 
 
UK nips obesity in the bud - The UK government published several relevant papers that correspond to actions the government will take to tackle obesity and overweight and help adults and children to live healthier lives.
 
“No” to CAP Amendment 171 - MEPs backtracked on their initial vote to ban dairy-related terms such as ‘buttery’ and ‘creamy’ for the marketing of plant-based alternatives, as part of the negotiations on the Common Agricultural Policy.
 
TIGRR says: “new framework for nutraceuticals”, PM lauds - Prime Minister (PM) Boris Johnson has responded positively to a UK Regulatory Reform Taskforce recommendation to establish a new regulatory framework for the nutraceutical sector in the UK.  

Liberation of the edible insects - The UK’s edible insect industry is disappointed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA)’s announcement that their products will have to go through authorisation again post-Brexit.

G7 leaders gather in Cornwall, discuss food waste, climate change and global action
From 11^th to 13^th June the G7 was held. Under the slogan of the United Kingdom’s Presidency “Build Back Better”, leaders of the world’s most advanced economies came together to discuss society’s most pressing issues:  the global recovery from COVID-19, tackling climate change, preserving democratic values and multilateralism, and safeguarding free and fair trade.
 
During the three day meeting, the taste buds of the world’s leading politicians were indulged with the most exquisite British foods (see here for the full menu), but food also played a key role in the discussions. World leaders pledged to take action to reduce food waste, with commitments to  enhance research and evaluation capacities to assess the drivers of food waste, and develop more effective messaging to educate consumers.

Leaders also discussed the linkage between food and climate change, and committed themselves to enhanced dialogue on the environmental impact of the food chain during the forthcoming COP26 Transition to Sustainable Agriculture Policy Dialogue and UN Food Systems Summit this September.  Importantly, Cornwall has revitalised the G7’s shared commitment to global action on food safety and security, especially in light of the pandemic, which has reinforced existing inequalities in people’s abilities to consume preferred, safe, and nutritious food.
 
UK government secures new trade deal with Australia
On 15^th June, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison announced they had reached an agreement on a trade deal that will eliminate many tariffs between both parties.
 
The deal will remove trade barriers for British food and drink products – such as Whisky or Biscuits – making them cheaper and more widely accessible for Australian consumers. The trade deal with Australia is the first agreement designed from scratch since the UK left the EU and is seen by Whitehall as a first step towards the UK joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), one of the largest free trade areas in the world.
 
British farmers raised concerns that an agreement with Australia would allow beef and other animal products – produced under Canberra’s laxer food standards – into the UK market, flooding it with cheaper alternatives to UK-grown meat. To respond to such fears, the British government introduced a cap on tariff-free imports for 15 years, using tariff rate quotas and other safeguards. British farmer associations have called on Number 10 to release more details on the animal standards and welfare clauses of the deal.
 
UK government publishes papers and announces policy as part of its obesity strategy
This month, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) published several relevant papers to tackle obesity and overweight in the country.
 
DHSC has published the outcomes of a consultation on requiring businesses in the out-of-home sector to label food and drink, which ran from September to December 2018. The government will be introducing mandatory calorie labelling for large businesses (businesses with 250+ employees), and the policy is expected to come into force starting April 2022.

DHSC also published its outcome of the consultations on introducing tough advertising restrictions for online advertising of products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS), and on introducing further advertising restrictions on TV and online for HFSS products. DHSC confirmed that a 9pm TV watershed for HFSS products and a restriction of paid-for HFSS advertising online which will start to apply by the end of 2022.
 
European Parliament backtracks on plans to restrict marketing terms for plant based dairy products
Following an initial vote in October 2020 in which Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted to ban dairy-related terms such as ‘buttery’ and ‘creamy’ for the marketing of plant-based alternatives, MEPs have withdrawn the amendment as part of the negotiations on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), between the Parliament and the Council of the EU.
The vote followed on from a 2017 ruling, which saw the European Court of Justice ban the use of dairy names such as ‘milk’, ‘butter’, ‘cheese’, and ‘yoghurt’ in the dairy-free sector.

A total of 456,000 consumers signed a public petition against this proposal, labelled as “Amendment 171” to the CAP. The petition was spearheaded by plant-based foods producers ProVeg, Upfield, and Oatly, alongside 96 other associations. Other opponents of the original proposals included WWF, Greenpeace, the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), and environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg.

PM Johnson bolsters TIGRR recommendation on rules for nutraceuticals
Boris Johnson responded positively to the UK’s Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform (TIGRR) recommendation of a new regulatory framework for the fast-growing category of novel health enhancing foods and supplements, to promote investment in the UK as a leader in the nutraceutical sector.
 
Published last week, the recommendations set out how the UK can reshape regulation and seize new opportunities post-Brexit. TIGRR was particularly set up to propose new options to enable the UK to take advantage of its newfound regulatory freedoms.
 
As regards agri-environment policy, TIGRR is of the opinion that “the UK would be better served by a more integrated, risk-based, proportionate approach to agri-environmental regulation, incorporating biodiversity offsetting and greater use of agri-tech”, emphasising that gene editing can offer important benefits. PM Johnson welcomed the bold and ambitious ideas to encourage growth and innovation.
 
UK edible insect industry calls for disentanglement from onerous rules
The UK’s edible insect industry raised concerns that is likely to be affected by financial barriers due to the authorisation process that will need to take place for the products to remain legally on the UK market post-Brexit.
 
Insects are regulated by the EU’s novel food regulation. Before Brexit, all edible insect companies operated under transitional measures set out in the regulation that allowed insects to be legally farmed and processed for human consumption. However, the FSA now informed industry that it is conducting its own review into whether the transition measures can continue, adding that as insects are novel foods they need to be authorised. The costs for this authorisation process range between £70,000 and £85,000. The industry expressed its disappointment with the FSA’s announcement, arguing it is a missed opportunity to disentangle the sector from onerous rules and to put the UK at the forefront of the insect protein movement.

Should you have any questions on the upcoming regulatory changes and new requirements to commercialise food across the Channel, do contact the Whitehouse team at andrea.solana@whitehousecomms.com

EU Channel - taking stock of the new EU-UK relationship  

This month marks five years since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. This still has a profound impact on the food & nutrition sector, as evidenced by the UK Food and Drink Federation (FDF)’s latest data showcasing a drastic drop in food and drink export to the EU.

With half a decade of Brexit, our latest ‘Euro Channel’ blogpost series takes a look at the decisive role of the food industry post-Brexit.

Since January 2021, when the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) took effect, UK food companies exporting their products to the EU have been facing the burden of bureaucracy with which other third countries have to deal in their trade with the Union. New (costly) requirements are imposed on exports to the EU, and export delays and rejections of products arriving at EU ports are not unusual.

The EU and the UK are negotiating the issue of food standards, with Brussels seeking a commitment from Britain to remain aligned to the Union’s standards and the British government asking instead for recognition of the UK standards as equivalent to those of the EU. Both parties are still to figure out how to best implement their agreement to ensure as little disruption as possible.

Now is the time for industry to put forward their interest, stay up to date on the policy and regulatory developments and engage with both the EU and UK, which long for input and expertise. Read more on Whitehouse’s ‘Euro Channel’ blog series here.

As the UK parts ways with EU legislation, the future of EU policies can be a confusing matter for UK businesses. Learn more about how British firms should prepare to interact with the EU here.

Have your voice heard in the EU political arena under the new EU-UK relationship. Join Whitehouse's EU Public Affairs Training

Even as a third country, the UK will carry over considerable amounts of EU legislation, and British businesses will need to maintain a strong voice in the European political and policy arena as food policy evolves. Whitehouse Communications has launched a tailor-made EU Public Affairs Training package, offering the perfect opportunity for UK businesses and professionals to learn how effectively to identify and shape relevant policy and regulatory developments and to promote their interests at the EU level.

Get in touch to find out more: laura.contin@whitehousecomms.com

In the past few years, policymakers have increasingly focussed on making the transition to a more sustainable and healthy food system at the European and national levels. At the same time, consumers are also indicating their intention to eat more healthily, a trend that has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The World Health Organisation (WHO) launched a #HealthyAtHome campaign to promote healthy dietary habits as Europe and the rest of the world take steps to ease lockdown restrictions. A key element mentioned by the WHO is to lower or moderate the intake of fat, salt and sugar. Policymakers in the UK and the EU also deem this important and, are taking efforts to reduce the consumption of HFSS products to curb increasing obesity rates across Europe.
 
As part of the EU’s Farm to Fork (F2F) Strategy, the European Commission is seeking to set nutrient profiles to restrict the promotion of HFSS foods, and will put forward a proposal (alongside food labelling measures) by the end of 2022 as part of its revision of the Food Information to Consumers (FIC) Regulation. A contentious issue in the European Parliament’s F2F report (paragraph 16), we expect some MEPs to push for more ambition on HFSS when they cast their vote in committee mid-July, and in plenary on 4^th October. On the other side of the Channel, the UK has also confirmed that it will introduce, at the end of 2022, a 9pm TV watershed for HFSS products and a restriction of paid-for-HFSS advertising online as part of its Obesity strategy.
 
Product reformulation, the process of altering a food or drink product’s composition to improve its health profile, plays a big part in facilitating the shift to healthier diets, and is something that policymakers have noted.
 
The good news for the food and nutrition industry is that policymakers are showing an increased willingness to listen to industry stakeholders under pressure to get to grips with new requirements post-Brexit and recovering from a global pandemic.  
 
A good example is the discussions that are taking place to design the EU’s Code of Conduct for responsible business and marketing practices, which is almost ready for signature and endorsement by interested parties. Industry can also provide their views and expertise in discussions in pan-European and UK-based trade associations and fora such as the European Food Forum (EFF) and, not least, during public consultations and direct meetings with those who hold the pen.
 
Being recognised as a major player in the shift towards more sustainable and healthy food systems is imperative for food companies wanting to jump into these discussions. Policies that can have a major impact on food businesses are currently on the table. Companies are already taking large strides in helping achieve the objectives set in Brussels and Westminster, but they need to ensure they have a seat and a voice at the policy table.

 

Opportunities to have your say:

• European Commission consultation: Organic products – imports from non-EU countries (rules for EU countries & operators – Open until 12^th July.
• European Commission consultation: Organic products – imports from non-EU countries (inspection certificate & official controls) – Open until 12^th July.
• UK Government consultation: ‘Green’ claims: CMA sets out the dos and don’ts for businesses – Open until 16^th July.
• European Commission consultation: Rules on official controls for organic products intended for import into the EU – Open until 19^th July.
• European Commission consultation: Food labelling – revision of rules on information provided to consumers for alcoholic beverages – Open until 22^ndJuly.
• European Commission consultation: Review of the EU school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme – EU aid – Open until 27^th July.
• UK Government consultation: Standard adult ready-to-drink oral nutritional supplements: ACBS policy – Open until 1^st August 2021