Food Law | UK Regulatory Outlook November 2022

Genetic Technology Bill returns to Parliament

On 31 October, the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill returned to parliament for its third reading and has now moved on to the House of Lords, and had its second reading on 21 November 2022.

The bill covers precision-bred plants and animals developed through techniques such as gene editing, where the genetic changes could have occurred naturally or through traditional breeding methods. To note, this is different to genetic modification, which produces organisms containing additional genes. Opportunities that will be brought by this new legislation include: climate resilient wheat; non-browning bananas; and disease resistance chickens.

Defra’s Chief Scientific Adviser Gideon Henderson said: "This is an important time for agricultural science. The ability to use gene editing to make precise, targeted changes to the genetic code of organisms, in a way that can mimic traditional breeding, enables development of new crop varieties that are more resistant to pests, healthier to eat, and more resilient to drought and heat as climate changes."

See our Insight for the practical implications of this bill.

100 CBD products disqualified from the review list

It has recently been reported that 100 CBD products have been disqualified from the review list by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the full list of the products which have been removed from the public list can be found here. The FSA have not provided any reasons to why these products have been removed, but this review provides a timely reminder that the FSA can and will remove products that no longer can be placed on the market, meaning they cannot be sold to consumers. Businesses placing CBD products on the market must ensure that their CBD products are listed on the FSA's public list.

If you missed our latest ECFB session on 'What's hot in food law?', you can request a recording of it here.