The Department of Health and Social Care have launched a consultation seeking views on banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under the age of 16 years (i.e. children aged 15 years and under). This includes proposals on:

• the minimum age of sale for high-caffeine energy drinks
• the products and businesses in scope of the ban
• how the ban will apply in vending machines
• the length of time that businesses and enforcement authorities need to implement the ban
• how the ban would be enforced

The proposed ban would apply in England only, since policy relating to high-caffeine energy drinks is a devolved matter.

The consultation document outlines the background on high-caffeine energy drinks and why government is concerned about children consuming them.

The consultation impact assessment sets out our provisional assessment of the impact of the proposals.

You can access the consultation here

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) have launched a consultation on local authority and district council guidance on Grey Market goods in the UK.

The consultation seeks views, comments, and feedback in relation to guidance produced by the FSA to support enforcement authorities identifying and taking action on food not intended for the UK market. These foods, also known as ‘Grey Market goods’, can contain unauthorised or excessive additives and/or ingredients which do not meet requirements set out in UK food safety legislation. They may also fail to identify allergens in the prescribed format.

It is primarily aimed at Trading Standards officers, Environmental Health officers and Port Health authorities.

All responses to the consultation must be submitted by 24 October 2025.

You can access the consultation here

For those members involved in importing and/or exporting, you may be interested to hear that the Government have set up a ‘How To’ series where you can attend live events and learn from international trade experts. From choosing your export markets and finding the right customers, through to winning the contract and making the sale, to successfully getting paid, these sessions will help you start selling to the world.

You can work your way through the series from start to finish or pick and choose the ones you need to attend – it’s up to you.

Events in the series include:

• Learn how to conduct international market research and gain business intelligence.
• Learn how to build an effective international marketing strategy.
• Learn how to figure out which global markets may be most suitable for your business.
• Learn the essentials of international taxes, tariffs and rules of origin.
• Learn how to navigate international regulations and customs procedures.
• Learn how to create a strategic export plan.

You can find more detail and sign up here

As of 18 September 2025, the import ban in place due to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease on commercial imports from Hungary of cattle, pigs, sheep, deer, buffaloes and their products such as meat and dairy was lifted.

This decision followed rigorous technical assessment of the measures applied in Hungary and the current disease situation. However, Defra have stated that if the situation changes, they will not hesitate to take necessary action to protect our domestic biosecurity.

Restrictions on personal imports of packaged and unpackaged meat, meat products, milk and dairy products, certain composite products and animal by products of pigs and ruminants from the EU single market area (including Hungary) will remain.

FMD poses no risk to human or food safety, but is a highly contagious viral disease of cattle, sheep, pigs and other cloven-hoofed animals. Livestock keepers should therefore be absolutely rigorous about their biosecurity.

Foot and mouth disease is a notifiable disease and must be reported. If you suspect foot and mouth disease in your animals, you must report it immediately by calling:

• 03000 200 301 in England
• 0300 303 8268 in Wales
• your local Field Services Office in Scotland

During the month of September, following successful completion of disease control activities, several protection zones across Great Britain have now ended and surveillance zones have been revoked.

The risk of HPAI H5 in wild birds in Great Britain is still however assessed as high (event occurs very often).

The risk of poultry exposure to HPAI H5 in Great Britain is assessed as:

• medium (event occurs regularly) (with medium uncertainty) where there is suboptimal or poor biosecurity
• low (event is rare but does occur) (with low uncertainty) where stringent biosecurity is consistently applied at all times

Details of the evidence that supported these decisions can be found here:

• risk and outbreak assessments
• outbreak epidemiology reports
• weekly reports of findings of bird flu in wild birds in Great Britain
• findings of bird flu in non-avian wildlife
• findings of bird flu in captive mammals

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) advise that bird flu is primarily a disease of birds and the risk to the general public’s health is very low.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has said bird flu poses a very low food safety risk for UK consumers. Properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat.

Regular updates on the latest situation can be found here

We are delighted to share the news that Anaphylaxis UK have teamed up with the University of Birmingham to host their Business Symposium this year.

Taking place on 12th November at The Edgbaston Park Hotel & Conference Centre in Birmingham, this event will feature in-depth presentations, case studies, and interactive discussions covering critical topics such as allergen detection and testing, effective risk management, mental health impacts, regulatory developments and incident response strategies.

Serious allergies and anaphylaxis pose complex challenges across healthcare, food safety, workplace management and public health. This conference will bring together leading experts, industry professionals, policymakers and individuals with lived experience to share cutting-edge research, practical solutions and real-world insights.

For more information and to reserve your seat please click here

Defra have recently published the Q4 2024 report on the pesticide residues monitoring programme.

HSE undertakes screening and detailed risk assessments, as required, for the pesticide residues found. This is to determine whether the residues present could lead to someone eating an amount above a level that is considered safe. HSE also produces detailed risk assessments for every case where the actual residue level found could lead to an intake above the safety levels.

During the 2024 surveillance programme, up to 417 different pesticides in each of the foods surveyed, were measured. The Quarter 4 programme for Great Britain (GB) surveyed 543 samples of 23 different foods and the Quarter 4 programme for Northern Ireland (NI) surveyed 228 samples of 23 different foods. All samples were collected between the beginning of October and the end of December 2024.

Of the 543 Q4 GB samples, residues were found in 250 of them and of these, 8 samples contained residues over the Maximum Residue Level (MRL). Of the 228 Q4 NI samples, residues were found in 109, and of these, 10 samples contained residues over the MRL.

In all but 2 of cases, it was concluded that effects on health were either unlikely or not expected. In 2 sample combinations of acetamiprid in grapes and chlorpyrifos and potatoes, it was concluded that the consumer exposure levels observed were undesirable, but it was not possible to conclude if they may cause any adverse health effects. All other residues found did not cause any concern for health.

Chlorpyrifos although not authorised in the UK can on occasions be found in some imported food. But at the levels present, a risk of an adverse effect on health due to genotoxicity would be low. Additionally, none of the individual commodity long-term exposure screening assessments indicated any potential for adverse long-term health effects.

You can read the report in full here