Page 58 — British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF)

WELCOME TO BYZAS RESEARCH

Posted on July 16, 2025 by

Byzas Research are proud to have become a member of the BFFF recently, many members will never have heard of us. So, let’s introduce ourselves.

For over 20 years we have supported a wide range of food manufacturers with cooking guideline generation and validation testing. In that time we have worked with just about anything which a consumer might cook or reheat at home, adhering to retailer policies and BRC requirements.

Since 2019 we have been proud to hold a UKAS Accreditation to ISO 17025 as testing laboratory 10486. This accreditation not only ensures compliance with all major retailer policies, but gives our clients trust in the reports they receive, and the methods used.

We offer testing using a wide range of household appliances, including ovens, air fryers, grills and microwaves of all wattages. Our tried and tested methods ensure accuracy, whilst emulating the home environment. To find out more about the accredited methods we offer, see our website here: https://www.byzas.co.uk/

How do we differ from other providers of this kind of service? We are a family run and owned business, which means that we are able to stay in touch with our customers as a management team ensuring that we remain customer centric. We began with the mission statement ‘an extension of your in-house capabilities’ and this is still at the core of what we do.

If you would like to see how we could support your team with cooking guideline testing, don’t hesitate to reach out and we’d be delighted to discuss your requirements.

Alex Watson

Alex.watson@byzas.co.uk

UK’S LEADING FORKLIFT TRAINING PROVIDER NOMINATED FOR THREE ‘ARCHIE’ AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

Posted on July 16, 2025January 7, 2026 by Sarah Collison

Mentor Training, the UK’s leading provider of material handling equipment and safety management training has been nominated for three awards at this year’s prestigious Archies Awards.

The national provider has been shortlisted as finalists for the Training Provider of the Year, Best New Product, and Customer Service Excellence awards.

Mentor’s Commercial Director, Adam Smith, shares his reaction, “It’s fantastic to be recognised by such a prestigious event. We have had success at the Archies in the past and we are thrilled to be acknowledged once again. Being shortlisted for three awards is a huge compliment to all the hard work completed by every single department in the business. It’s a very welcomed pat on the back for all of us here at Mentor.”

The UK Material Handling Association’s Archies is an event like no other within the material handling equipment sector and marks a notable date in the diary for the entire industry. What’s more, this year it takes place during the three-day IMHX exhibition, the UK’s premier event for supply chain and intralogistics professionals. So, the week’s events will see hundreds of individuals travel to Birmingham to be involved.

This year, the UK Material Handling Association saw an influx of submissions across the wide array of award categories, so being nominated as a finalist was no easy task.

Rob Fisher, UKMHA CEO, said: “We’ve been staggered by the volume and quality of entries for this year’s awards, and I must applaud everyone for the standard of their submissions. Frankly, I don’t envy the jobs of the judges having to find winners from such an outstanding set of nominations.”

Adam explains what the awards mean to him, “I’m equally proud of being announced as a finalist for each of the three categories. Training Provider is obviously the category you would most typically associate with what Mentor does, but the other two categories also mean an awful lot to us”.

Adam continues, “Having our innovative efforts recognised through the Best New Product nomination is fantastic. We strive to continuously evolve our services and the methods in which we deliver training, and having our game-changing blended learning operator solutions recognised by the Archies is amazing. Likewise, Customer Service Excellence is more than a goal here at Mentor, it’s our promise. To have that effort result in an award nomination is an amazing feeling. These kinds of moments make us stop for a second and reflect on the fantastic work that is being done here.”

Mentor are hoping for success during the awards ceremony and are wishing all other nominees good luck, too. The Archies Awards will be given out on 10th September, at the Vox Conference Centre in Birmingham.

To find out more about the training and services behind Mentor’s nominations, contact them or call 01246 555222 and speak with an expert member of their team.

DUAL ROLE AS WHITING STEPS UP

Posted on July 16, 2025January 7, 2026 by Sarah Collison

Lee Whiting has been confirmed as the Managing Director of Green Clover Developments (GCD), a Redditch-based offshoot of Oakland International Limited, and a company aiming to create the most revolutionary sustainable food parks and eco home sites in the UK.

In the last eight years he has left his mark on Oakland International climbing the ladder to a position as Group Supply Chain Director, but he admits the opportunity to try something new with the GCD project was too good an opportunity to miss.

Whiting said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be offered this opportunity to build upon the work I have previously been doing with Oakland International.

“This is an exciting new direction, and I couldn’t be happier. Obviously, I will still be working closely with Oakland International Co-Founder Dean Attwell and the Oakland Board, who are backing GCD, but I now also have the autonomy to get my teeth into something new.”

In his new role Whiting will oversee the development of sustainable food parks and nearby affordable, sustainable, eco- friendly homes.

The plan is to create one, and then roll the model out across the UK, including Scotland and Wales.

The statistics for the plan are impressive. Each one could create up to 3,000 new jobs in each region, plus between 75-100 construction contracts, giving a real shot in the arm to the British economy.

What is even more impressive, whichever local authority having the vision to permit the development could benefit from an impressive Gross Value Added (GVA) impact of £509 million.

Whiting added: “I started in warehousing as a young 18-year-old but was always very driven, ambitious, and worked solidly until I became a site general manager. I always wanted to oversee a task like this.”

Thirty years on and Whiting, who when not working can be found racing around on a bike of some description, is relishing his new role.

“I hope the skills I have amassed over my career and the contacts I have made will stand me in good stead.”

Not to be content with his new position at GCD, Whiting has also taken on a Board role at Rack Collapse Prevention (RCP) run by another member of the Attwell family, Dean’s brother Craig.

RCP specialise in systems designed to provide safer storage in warehouses with employee safety very much at the forefront.

Family man Whiting added: “I have amassed a lot of contacts in the warehouse industry over the last couple of decades so I hope I can bring this incredible system, which really does save lives and revolutionise storage, in front of lots of the right people.”

BRAKES WINS NATIONAL WHOLESALER OF THE YEAR AT THE GROCER GOLD AWARD

Posted on July 16, 2025January 7, 2026 by Sarah Collison

Brakes, the UK’s leading foodservice wholesaler, has won the prestigious Grocer Gold National Wholesaler of the Year award.

The sought-after accolade was awarded at the food industry’s equivalent of the ‘Oscars’ at the Royal Albert Hall on 8 July.

The judges praised Brakes for its hyper-local Your Way service, as well as the launch of Sysco brand, which has dominated the sector’s food awards, and the company’s continuing growth. Paul Nieduszynski, CEO of Sysco GB, said: “Being acknowledged by the industry is the perfect recognition for the job that our colleagues across the organisation have done in transforming the business.

“From the launch of Your Way to the fantastic growth of the Sysco brand and the work we’ve done on transforming our service proposition, we’ve had an immense year and I am extremely proud of what we’ve achieved. And with our new London depot, our Newhouse extension and upgrades at other depots, including Durham and Peterlee, this is just the start!”

Extraterritoriality of the EU’s Digital Services Act

Posted on July 16, 2025January 9, 2026 by

A single set of rules that apply across the whole EU is how the European Commission describes the Digital Services Act ((EU) 2022/2065) (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act ((EU) 2022/1925) (DMA).

The foci of this legal framework are:

the safety of users online;
governance with, at the forefront, the protection of fundamental rights; and
an online platform environment which is fair and open.

Read more about the DSA package here.

In the context of recent news

The DSA entered into force on 16 November 2022, although most operative provisions did not take effect until 17 February 2024. The DMA entered into force on 1 November 2022 and came into effect on 2 May 2023.

To put these EU regulations in the context of recent news, the European Commission:

on 3 July, launched a public consultation on the first review of the DMA (closes 24 September 2025): read the press release here.
on 2 July, adopted a delegated act on data access under the DSA relating to researchers obtaining access to the internal data of Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) and Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs) – read the press release here.
on 1 July, provided a reminder that harmonised transparency reporting rules start to apply – read the press release here.
on 18 June, accepted and made binding the commitments under the DSA of the VLOP AliExpress – read the press release here.

Extraterritoriality: substantial connection to the EU

In this blog we foreground the extraterritoriality of the DSA – looking at the ‘substantial connection to the Union’ wording within the regulation. We also explore some of the obligations for entities in-scope, the tiering of those obligations, and consequences of non-compliance.

What are online intermediaries and platforms?

The European Commission explains:

‘Digital services include a large category of online services, from simple websites to internet infrastructure services and online platforms.
The rules specified in the DSA primarily concern online intermediaries and platforms. For example, online marketplaces, social networks, content-sharing platforms, app stores, and online travel and accommodation platforms’.

UK-based suppliers of ‘intermediary services’

The DSA applies to intermediary services offered to recipients (businesses or consumers) in the EU. This is Article 2(1) of the DSA on its Scope:

This Regulation shall apply to intermediary services offered to recipients of the service that have their place of establishment or are located in the Union, irrespective of where the providers of those intermediary services have their place of establishment.

So, the DSA applies irrespective of where the provider is incorporated or located.

Substantial connection

However, to be in-scope, a provider of the intermediary services would need to be established in the EU or connected to the EU based on specific factual criteria. This is referred to in the DSA as a substantial connection.

Specific factual criteria

In the preamble to the DSA (recitals (7) and (8)) there are guiding words on having a ‘substantial connection to the Union’. In addition, there are these definitions within the DSA:

‘to offer services in the Union’ means enabling natural or legal persons in one or more Member States to use the services of a provider of intermediary services that has a substantial connection to the Union

‘substantial connection to the Union’ means a connection of a provider of intermediary services with the Union resulting either from its establishment in the Union or from specific factual criteria, such as:

a significant number of recipients of the service in one or more Member States in relation to its or their population; or
the targeting of activities towards one or more Member States

Enforcement – fines of up to 6% of worldwide annual turnover

The European Commission has powers under the DSA to investigate and to sanction. For non-compliance generally, the European Commission is able to impose fines of up to 6% of worldwide annual turnover. Following a specific procedure, and as a last resort measure, the Commission can request temporary suspension of the service.

Read more about the enforcement framework under the DSA here.

VLOPs and VLOSEs

For the purposes of the DSA, the Commission designates providers having more than 45 million users per month in the EU (or 10% of the EU’s population):

Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs), and
Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs).

The Commission maintains a webpage providing an overview of the VLOPs and VLOSEs that it supervises and its main enforcement activities. Enforcement issues include:

protection of minors;
conducting due diligence on traders;
informing consumers about illegal products;
giving researchers access to data;
risks of breaching data protection law;
providing a searchable and reliable repository for advertisements; and
avoiding the use of dark patterns.

Read about the supervision of VLOPs and VLOSEs here.

Formal proceedings against a designated VLOP

The European Commission has issued information requests or started formal proceedings against online platforms, the first proceedings being in December 2023. These were against the platform X (formerly Twitter), with preliminary findings (the first under the DSA) released on 12 July 2024.

Read more about findings on breaches of the DSA here.

Tiering of obligations under the DSA – it’s not just VLOPs and VLOSEs!

There are certain obligations imposed by the DSA which are applicable to all providers. Providers of intermediary services include:

VLOPs and VLOSEs;
online consumer marketplaces;
online platforms;
hosting service providers; and
‘mere conduit’ and ‘caching’ providers.

Obligations are tiered, with the fewest applying to mere conduit and caching providers, and the most stringent applying to VLOPs and VLOSEs.

Provisions applicable to all in-scope

Obligations on all providers of intermediary services include:

Designate a single point of contact for:

the provider to communicate with Member States’ authorities, the Commission and the European Board for Digital Services (Article 11), and
recipients of the service to communicate with the provider (Article 12).

Appoint a legal representative in the EU if not established there – for the purpose of being addressed in addition to or instead of the provider (Article 13).

Providers must give their legal representative the powers and resources to cooperate with Member States’ authorities, the Commission and the European Board for Digital Services, and to comply with their decisions.
The legal representative can be held liable for non-compliance with the DSA, without prejudice to the liability and legal actions that could be initiated against the provider.
The name, postal address, email address and telephone number of the legal representative must be notified to the Digital Services Coordinator in the relevant Member State. This information must also be publicly available, easily accessible, accurate and kept up to date.

Include provisions in their terms and conditions clarifying any restrictions on use of their service in respect of information provided by recipients of the service (Article 14).

Comply with transparency reporting obligations (Article 15).

A Transparency Reporting Regulation (2024/2835) was published in November 2024 and sets out what providers of intermediary services need to do.
There is a template in Annex I and instructions in Annex 2 – use of the template is obligatory from 1 July 2025.
Note the first reporting cycle ran to 16 February 2025; the second is shortened and runs to 31 December 2025.

Hosting service providers and upwards have additional obligations.

Codes of conduct

In addition to the DSA, there are various associated voluntary Codes of Conduct. Read more about the DSA Codes of Conduct.

The Commission has also published (5 February 2025) a statement about its approach to the challenges posed by e-commerce imports. Read the EU toolbox for safe and sustainable e-commerce here.

Key takeaways

All providers of intermediary services within scope of the DSA, not just VLOPs and VLOSEs, have obligations under the DSA, albeit that those obligations are tiered.

The European Commission has issued information requests and started formal proceedings against online platforms, with its main enforcement activities against the VLOPs and VLOSEs it supervises viewable on its dedicated webpage. We await the outcome of the proceedings against X and other VLOPs.

Related, the approach to online safety legislated for in the UK has followed another pathway – there are similarities and differences between the DSA and the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA). Rather than the DSA’s focus on transparency and accountability, the emphasis of the UK’s OSA is protecting users, particularly children, from illegal or harmful content.

We end this blog though where we began, with the DSA and the DMA together forming the package, the set of rules that for the European Commission aims, ‘…to create a safer digital space where the fundamental rights of users are protected and to establish a level playing field for businesses’. Here we have explored the extraterritoriality of the DSA, but note too that the DMA has extraterritorial effect.

The DMA establishes criteria to identify ‘gatekeepers’. These gatekeepers are large digital platforms (e.g., Alphabet, Google’s parent company) which provide a ‘core platform service’ (CPS), such as an online search engine (e.g., Google Search), or an app store or a messenger service.

We will revisit the DMA and its effect on businesses which depend on gatekeeper CPSs in a future blog. In the meantime, you can read more about the DMA’s designated gatekeepers and their associated CPSs here.

Companies House Reforms – Protecting Your Information

Posted on July 11, 2025January 9, 2026 by

When wishing to protect personal information

The scope of circumstances, in which an individual can apply to the registrar at Companies House for information about them to be suppressed, is set to broaden. A company director is an obvious example of an individual making such an application.

A draft of The Protection and Disclosure of Personal Information (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (Amendment Regulations) has been laid before Parliament (14 May 2025), but not yet made as a UK Statutory Instrument (SI).

What does the draft legislation do?

The intention behind this legislative change is described in the draft Explanatory Memorandum, published to accompany the draft SI:

‘This instrument will widen the range of circumstances in which individuals may apply to the registrar at Companies House to protect their personal information where it appears on the public register. Protection means that the registrar cannot make the relevant information publicly available’ (paragraph 4.1).

Territorially, the Amendment Regulations extend across the UK.

Read the draft Amendment Regulations 2025 here.

Read the draft Explanatory Memorandum here.

Part of a wider reform

On the policy context to the Amendment Regulations, it is explained that the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) reforms include measures:

‘…to prevent the abuse of personal information on the companies register’ (paragraph 5.1).

The ECCTA received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. See our previous blogs on the ECCTA Corporate Transparency change coming to the UKand Major Changes To Company Law Imminent.

Read Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act: outline transition plan for Companies House here. (Published 16 October 2024; last updated 12 March 2025.)

For further background in relation to the ECCTA, there is a Government campaign website called ‘Changes to UK company law’. This includes a section called ‘Changes at a glance’.

Access the https://changestoukcompanylaw.campaign.gov.uk website here.

Personal information displayed on a public register

The risk of harm

The balance at the heart of the Amendment Regulations is acknowledged in the Explanatory Memorandum as follows:

‘It has always been a key principle that individuals directing companies and equivalent entities should have their details registered at Companies House so that they can be held to account for the entity’s affairs. However, there are instances in which having this information visible on the public register puts individuals at increased risk of harm such as identity theft or fraud’ (paragraph 5.2).

Circumstances for making an application

The Amendment Regulations introduce the second part of the ECCTA privacy reforms, with further measures to protect personal information on the public register held by Companies House.

To protect ‘usual residential addresses’ in most cases where they appear on the register. On this see Part 3 of the Amendment Regulations (‘Amendments to the Companies (Disclosure of Address) Regulations 2009’) – this amends and expands the existing address protection regime.
To introduce a protection regime for an individual’s:

signature,
business occupation, and
day of date of birth.

Further detail on this regime in Part 2 of the Amendment Regulations (‘Application for protection of personal information on the companies register’).

An absolute right

What this means once the draft legislation is in force is also considered in the draft Explanatory Memorandum:

‘Once this instrument is in force, anyone will be able to make an application according to the regulations for protection of their residential address, signature, business occupation, and day of date of birth. Individuals will not need to justify the need for such protection or meet any additional conditions. It is an individual’s absolute right to have their residential address, signature, day of date of birth, and business occupation protected. This is because the law does not require this information to either be provided or made publicly available anymore. Companies House will retain all protected information to share with law enforcement agencies and other public authorities when required to’ (paragraph 5.4).

There are exceptions

Registered office address

An individual cannot apply to protect an address that must be kept on the register, such as the live ‘registered office address’, unless this is also on the register as their own current address (e.g., as a director’s ‘service address’). In that case a replacement service address must be provided in the application.

Otherwise making unavailable for inspection

Also, an individual is not able to apply to protect information contained in certain filings related to charges, or that would require the registrar to make an entity’s name unavailable for inspection by the public (on these points see regulations 2(3) and 5(6)). An example of the latter provided in the Explanatory Memorandum is not being possible to protect an address where it forms part of a company name, ‘…such as in the case of a flat management company whose name contains the address of the building it manages’ (paragraph 5.6).

Keeping in step

LLPs and unregistered companies

The Amendment Regulations make corresponding provisions for Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) and unregistered companies.

People with Significant Control

Additionally, the Amendment Regulations widen the application grounds for People with Significant Control (PSC) to request that the registrar refrains from disclosing their residential address to a credit reference agency.

Date in force

The Amendment Regulations, except for Part 11, come into force:

on 21 July 2025, if made before 21 July 2025, or
on the day after the day on which the Amendment Regulations are made, if they are made on or after 21 July 2025.

Part 11 of the Amendment Regulations comes into force when section 167J of the Companies Act 2006 (required information about a director: individuals) comes fully into force[1].

Applicable guidance

Ahead of the Amendment Regulations coming into force, the Explanatory Memorandum notes that the existing Companies House guidance on protecting personal information will be updated.

Key takeaways

The draft Amendment Regulations introduce the second part of the ECCTA privacy reforms, bringing in further measures to protect certain personal information on the public register held by Companies House. Specifically, the draft SI relates to the suppression of usual residential address, signature, business occupation, and / or day of date of birth. This is through application to the UK’s registrar of Companies.

In this blog, we have put the draft SI in the setting of the wider reform of the ECCTA, referring to the ECCTA outline transition plan for Companies House. So, to conclude, it is interesting to note the historical perspective stated within that policy paper:

‘The Act introduces the biggest changes to Companies House since corporate registrations were established in 1844 and will enable us to play a much stronger role in making the UK a great place to do business’.

Our experienced team of commercial lawyers can support you if you would like to learn more about these proposed changes to the UK’s Companies House.

[1] Section 167J was inserted by section 51 of, and Schedule 2 to, the ECCTA.

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In the context of recent news

Extraterritoriality: substantial connection to the EU

What are online intermediaries and platforms?

UK-based suppliers of ‘intermediary services’

Substantial connection

Specific factual criteria

Enforcement – fines of up to 6% of worldwide annual turnover

VLOPs and VLOSEs

Formal proceedings against a designated VLOP

Tiering of obligations under the DSA – it’s not just VLOPs and VLOSEs!

Provisions applicable to all in-scope

Codes of conduct

Key takeaways

We’re here to help

When wishing to protect personal information

What does the draft legislation do?

Part of a wider reform

Personal information displayed on a public register

The risk of harm

Circumstances for making an application

An absolute right

There are exceptions

Registered office address

Otherwise making unavailable for inspection

Keeping in step

LLPs and unregistered companies

People with Significant Control

Date in force

Applicable guidance

Key takeaways