Food Law | UK Regulatory Outlook April 2023

FSA launch consultation on precautionary allergen labelling

On 27 March, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) launched a consultation as part of a routine review and update of the "Allergen Labelling Technical Guidance". The FSA is seeking feedback on key guidance updates, in particular on when applying precautionary allergen labelling (PAL), which the FSA is proposing will need to specify the major allergens that the PAL applies to. For example, stating "may contain peanuts" rather than just labelling "may contain nuts".

A further proposal is that PAL should not be used in conjunction with free-from statements for the same allergen. For example, “may contain milk” should not be used in combination with “dairy free”.

It is also seeking views on whether best practice guidance should state that "No Gluten Containing Ingredients" (NGCI) statements should not be used, for example "this menu has been designed for a no gluten diet”. Instead businesses should use the phrase "gluten free" or "low gluten" to show that foods have no or low levels of gluten, as there is evidence showing NGCI statements can be misleading for consumers.

The consultation closes on 22 May, after which the FSA will consider the responses prior to amending and publishing the revised technical guidance in summer 2023.

FSA consults on new modernised food hygiene delivery model

The FSA has published a consultation on proposals for a modernised food hygiene delivery model (FHDM). The key proposed developments include a modernised food hygiene intervention rating scheme that will include a decision matrix to determine the appropriate frequency of controls based on the risk posed by a food business establishment, and an updated risk-based approach to the timescales for initial official controls of new food establishments and undertaking due official controls.

Feedback from the consultation will be reviewed and the refined proposals for the modernised FHDM will then be subject to a six-month pilot and a formal consultation, which the FSA expects to run from January to June 2024.  The consultation closes on 30 June 2023.

UK government publishes draft proposals for new border controls

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