Page 20 — British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF)

UK SECURES BILATERAL FISHERIES AGREEMENTS WITH NORWAY AND FAROE ISLANDS WORTH £8M

Posted on January 26, 2026 by Denise Rion

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) announced at the end of December 2025 that the UK had secured bilateral fisheries agreements with Norway and the Faroe Islands for 2026.

The agreements will grant the UK the same tonnage of Arctic stocks in Norwegian waters and of valuable stocks, including haddock and saithe, in Faroese waters in 2026 as for 2025, maintaining continuity for industry.

The deals transfer quota to the UK of over 1,000 tonnes in Arctic stocks and over 2,000 tonnes of stocks in Faroese waters, as well as additional North Sea herring quota.

Both agreements demonstrate the UK’s commitment to managing fisheries sustainably, supporting the long-term viability of stocks in the North Sea, and to cooperation with other parties on monitoring, control and surveillance.

The fishing opportunities and access arrangements the UK has secured through agreements with Norway and the Faroe Islands build on other fisheries deals signed with the EU and other coastal states earlier in December 2025, bringing the UK’s total fishing opportunities for 2026 to around £840 million based on historic landing prices.

The UK-Norway Agreed Record is published and available to read on GOV.UK here: Fisheries: bilateral agreement with Norway for 2026 – GOV.UK 

The UK-Faroe Islands Agreed Record for 2026 is published and available to read on GOV.UK here: Fisheries: bilateral agreement with the Faroe Islands for 2026 – GOV.UK 

The fishing opportunities for UK fishing boats which reflect this agreement will be published in the Secretary of State determination of fishing opportunities for British fishing boats for 2026 in due course. 

UPDATED GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT ON EXPORTING FISH FROM THE UK AND NEW IUU REQUIREMENTS

Posted on January 26, 2026 by Denise Rion

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) have recently published updated guidance which covers the following:

How to export fish from the UK to the EU

How to move fish between Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland

How to create a catch certificate

How to get an export health certificate

Complying with Rules of Origin for tariff-free trade

Composite products

Direct landings of UK-flagged fishing vessels into the EU

Returning rejected fish exports to Great Britain from the EU

Endangered fish and shellfish

Eels

Bluefin tuna and Antarctic and Patagonian toothfish

Customs requirements

Get help with fish export documents

The guidance can be accessed here

The MMO, supported by the UK Fisheries and Marine Conservation (UKFMC), is also providing extended hours of support following the new IUU requirements which came into force on January 8th. In addition to the usual Fish Export Service (FES) helpline times (8am to 6pm Monday to Friday), an extended out of hours service will operate to provide 24/7 advice and support. The helpline number is 0330 159 1989.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION PUBLISHES SAFE HEARTS PLAN

Posted on January 26, 2026 by Denise Rion

The European Commission recently published a communication to the European Parliament, the Council and two committees on ‘an EU cardiovascular health plan : the Safe Hearts Plan’.

The EU cardiovascular health plan (Safe Hearts Plan) is a strategic response to the EU’s leading health challenge. Its aim is to deliver tangible benefits for citizens, health systems and society through a focused set of ambitious, high-impact actions.

The Safe Hearts Plan is centred on three pillars – prevention, early detection and screening, and treatment and care (including rehabilitation) – and supported by three cross-cutting themes on digital innovation, research and knowledge, and tackling inequalities. It seeks to strengthen national policies while adding clear EU value.

Cardiovascular diseases remain the biggest public health challenge in the EU despite advances in their prevention and management. They are the leading cause of death and disability in the EU, claiming 1.7 million lives every year and affecting around 62 million people in many ways that go beyond just physical symptoms. The economic cost exceeds EUR 282 billion per year, including EUR 47 billion in lost productivity.

The plan is available to download here

A question and answer document is also available here

FIIN LAUNCH SME SUPPORT HUB

Posted on January 26, 2026 by Denise Rion

The Food Industry Intelligence Network (Fiin) has recently launched an SME Support Hub, a free resource designed to help small and medium-sized businesses protect against food fraud and strengthen supply chain integrity.

The Hub brings together practical tools and intelligence to make it easier for SMEs to put the right control measures in place and protect their business and customers.

Key features include:

Commodity watchlist – quarterly insights on vulnerabilities and risks.

Understanding food fraud – food fraud definitions and examples

Guides & resources – practical, cost-effective tools for smaller businesses.

News & events – updates on the latest developments.

Reporting tools – safe and confidential links to regulators.

Access is completely free – you just need to register the first time you log in:

https://www.fiin.co.uk/sme-hub

EC PUBLISH LATEST AGRI-FOOD FRAUD REPORT

Posted on January 26, 2026 by Denise Rion

The European Commission have now published the November report on agri-food fraud suspicions.

These monthly reports include ‘non-compliances with fraud suspicions’ of cross-border nature identified and shared between members of the Alert and Cooperation Network (ACN) and retrieved from its three components: the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed network (RASFF), the Administrative Assistance and Cooperation network (AAC) and the Agri-Food Fraud Network (FFN).

Non-compliances with fraud suspicions affecting one single Member State are not shared in the ACN and therefore not reported within these monthly reports.

The monthly reports cover food, feedingstuff, materials and articles intended to come into contact directly or indirectly with food, animal welfare issues for farmed animals, plant protection products, veterinary medicinal products and other inputs that may end in the form of residues and contaminants in food and feed.

The monthly reports do not reconcile data and suspicions related to the following subjects:

animal and plant health,

release into the environment of Genetically Modified Organisms,

animal welfare for companion animals,

placing on the market and use of plant protection products, veterinary medicinal products and other inputs that are not ending as residues and contaminants in food and feed, and

animal by-products and derived products when they not intended to be used for oral feeding to animals.

Read the report in full here

EUROPEAN COMMISSION PROPOSES SIMPLIFYING AND STREAMLINING EU LAWS

Posted on January 26, 2026 by Sarah Collison

The European Commission is simplifying and streamlining EU laws across all policies, including in the areas of food and feed safety, animals and plants. This is part of its broader strategy to make EU regulations more efficient, while maintaining high safety and welfare standards.

The Simplification Package was proposed by the Commission to streamline and simplify food and feed legislation in specific areas. It focuses on reducing unnecessary administrative costs and burdens for agri-food producers and operators and national authorities.

Among the key measures proposed are:

faster procedures to give bio-control products market access

more targeted and efficient renewal procedures for pesticides and biocides

more targeted and efficient renewal procedures for feed additive authorisations

digital labelling options for feed additives

streamlined measures for fermentation products produced using GMMs.

stronger import rules for pesticide residues, to ensure a level playing field

simplified accreditation rules for official laboratories

a more pragmatic approach to border controls for plant products

adapted bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) surveillance and risk mitigation requirements.

In a recent press release, the Commission stated that the simplifications proposed could save over €1 billion in administrative and compliance costs, including over €428 million annually for EU businesses (€227 million for SMEs), as well as €661 million annually for national and EU administrations. This includes annual administrative savings amounting to €939 million for both businesses and national administrations and €150 million in compliance costs for business.

You can read more here: Food and Feed Safety Simplification Package 

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