Warnings have been renewed following hundreds of people in France being poisoned by Death Cap Mushroom, aka poisonous amanita phalloides.

French poison control centres have reported a sharp spike in cases in recent weeks according to the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES). There have been 732 intoxication cases recorded since July 2020 including some cases of serious life-threatening illnesses. Most cases occur in October when the weather conditions favour wild mushroom growth i.e. rainfall, humidity and cooler temperatures.

It is not only foraged mushrooms that people must be aware of (often people incorrectly identify the mushrooms) – poisoning risks can also occur from shop bought varieties, or consumption in a restaurant, of mushrooms that are in poor condition, undercooked or stored incorrectly.

This type of poisoning can lead to serious health issues such as digestive disorders, liver damage, kidney complications and even death.

There have been other instances of foraging poisoning cases around the World in recent years with cases reported in Canada, Italy, Hong Kong and Australia.

On the 11^th November 2020 legislation was passed in UK law that will unleash the potential for agriculture.

The Agriculture Bill was introduced to Parliament in January, this year, and will provide a boost to the industry after years of overly bureaucratic policy being dictated by the EU. The new system will replace the Basic Payment Subsidy Scheme which pays farmers for the total amount of land farmed and was heavily skewed towards larger landowners.

The Bill will empower UK farmers and land managers and ensure they are rewarded properly with public money for ‘public goods’ – such as better air and water quality, thriving wildlife, soil health and measures to reduce flooding and tackle climate change under the Environmental Land Management Scheme. This will provide a powerful vehicle to achieve the Governments’ 25 year Environment Plan and commitment to reach net zero emission by 2050.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said, “Our landmark Agriculture Act will transform the way we support farmers.”

He also added that, “The government will now be able to further champion food production by improving the transparency and fairness in the supply chain from farm to fork, as well as keeping our world-famous food producers competitive and innovative by investing in the latest technology and research. The government will also report on UK food security to Parliament every three years. The first report will be published at the end of next year, and will include analysis of the impacts on food supply of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as a wide range of themes including global availability of food, food safety and consumer confidence.”

Farmers will have a 7 year transition period, starting in 2021, to adapt to the new agricultural system. Direct Payments will be phased out starting with the 2021 Basic Payment Scheme year and run until end of 2027. This will allow farmers and land managers the time they need to adapt to the new system.

To read the full article – please click here.

The House of Commons Library recently published a research briefing on obesity. The paper covers the work of the UK Government in preventing and reducing obesity and includes chapters on the childhood obesity plan, the soft drinks industry levy (SDIL), and the ‘tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’ policy paper.

Chapter 7 covers the consultation on introducing further restrictions on advertising products high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS). This particular consultation has come under heavy criticism from industry with many claiming that the implementation date of the end of 2022 and consultation period of just six weeks were far too short.

In 2019 the government consulted on restricting advertising of HFSS for TV and online. It asked for views on whether to extend current advertising restrictions on broadcast TV and online media, including consulting on watershed restrictions. In July 2020 the government confirmed its intention to introduce a 9pm watershed on TV. This new consultation goes further and looks at how a total HFSS advertising restriction could be implemented online. The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 22^nd December 2020 and can be found here.

The House of Commons Research Briefing can be downloaded here

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) published its annual report, in June 2020, on progress in reducing UK emissions. The Rt Hon Alok Sharma, Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Energy, and The Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng, Minister for State for Business Energy and Clean Growth responded to the CCC’s annual report on behalf of the UK Government.

Whilst the CCC acknowledged that the Covid-19 Pandemic had a massive impact for businesses and families as a whole, the UK Government confirmed that the target was still in place to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and this was at the heart of the UK’s economic recovery, whilst also supporting families and businesses impacted by the pandemic.

The Government agreed with the CCC that 2021 would be a critical year for climate control, both internationally and domestically but the UK is well-placed with international co-operation through COP26 and G7 presidencies and will drive ambition to reduce emissions, build resilience and support each other. This is reflected by a robust domestic policy.

The response concluded that the UK Government would continue to work closely with the CCC in the drive to transition to net zero by 2050 and looked forward to receiving further advice from the CCC on Carbon Budget 6 later this month.

For the full UK Government’s response – please click here.

Northern Irish politicians have united over fears for food supplies following new regulations that will be implemented when the UK leaves the EU single market on 1^st January 2021. This has been reinforced by Marks & Spencer who warn that as much as 15% of their product lines may not be available in NI branches from January.

These new regulations will cause issues as Northern Ireland will remain within the EU in order to protect cross-border trade with the Republic of Ireland (ROI).

High risks foods, such as eggs, meat and fish, will require a EHC (Export Health Certificate), signed by an approved vet, in order to enter the EU and, therefore, Northern Ireland and could prove very expensive. This has led M&S questioning whether they are able to run some product lines. They have stressed that they remain committed to providing the same range of products to Northern Ireland but they need urgent answers on several aspects from the UK Government, including labelling and certification processes, to avoid a risk to their ability to supply products to NI from the UK. Other Retailers, including Sainsburys, have expressed similar concerns.

The European Commission Vice President, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein sent an open letter to the EU’s representative on the Joint Committee, and stated that there had been a meeting with representatives of the main supermarkets who stressed how ‘critical the current situation is’ and that there is a real threat to the continuity of food supply to the NI market – solutions need to be found urgently.

The EU commission confirmed that it was aware of the concerns raised and was taking the situation very seriously.