The European Commission recently published their February 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 report can be read in full here 

 

The European Commission (EC) have recently released Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/351 to amend several regulations on food contact materials. 

The amended regulations are: 

• Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food. 

• Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 on recycled plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food. 

• Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006 on good manufacturing practice for materials and articles intended to come into contact with food, as regards to recycled plastic and other matters related to quality control and manufacturing of plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food. 

The regulation change entered into effect on March 16th, 2025. 

It amends quality assurance system requirements for recyclers and introduces new provisions for ‘materials intended for reprocessing’ under the GMP regulation. 

It also makes several amends to Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011: 

• Changes to the scope of the Regulation, which also covers plastic materials in multi-material multilayer materials 

• Insertion of the parameter regarding articles with repeated use that the composition of plastic materials and articles shall be such so as to guarantee that no increase in the migration of constituents of the material or article to the food would occur during their life span when subjected to subsequent use cycles 

• Inclusion of the obligation to report on the label, for articles for repeated use, information to mitigate deterioration of the article and a description of the visual changes that indicate deterioration and reaching the end of life, as well as any restrictions in the use of the article when a starting substance is used that is limited by law with respect to times, temperatures and food simulants 

• Request for information regarding non-intentionally added substances (if present) in an amount that could cause non-compliance of a final material with Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 

• Introduction of the concept of high degree of purity for raw materials 

• Introduction of the possibility by the relevant authorities to take samples to verify their degree of purity and their composition, including that of the substances and materials used for their manufacture 

• New reference to plastic wastes 

• Introduction of new details regarding the use of reprocessing materials 

• Amendment of food simulant to be used for evaluation of specific cheese 

• Updating regulatory references to requirements applicable to recycled plastic food contact materials according to Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 

• Modification of Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006 on good manufacturing practice for food contact materials according to the Annex II of the new Regulation 

Food contact plastics that complied with Regulation (EU) No.10/2011 and other relevant regulations before Regulation (EU) 2025/351 entered into force, and that were first placed on the market before September 16th 2026, may remain on the market until stocks are exhausted. 

Business operators will have to revise labels that accompany products as well as declarations for products in contact with food intended for repeated use, aligning with the new provisions. Particular attention must be paid to the declarations submitted by raw material suppliers, which must comply with the new provisions. 

The new regulation can be accessed here  

 

In February, Defra issued updated guidance on labelling requirements for certain products moving from Great Britain to retail premises in Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme (NIRMS).  

Under NIRMS, some food products require individual product labels with the words ‘Not for EU’. These requirements are being introduced in 3 phases from October 2023 to July 2025. This includes products imported into Great Britain from the EU and products from the rest of the world that can move under NIRMS.   

Only products moving into Northern Ireland under NIRMS need to meet the labelling requirements. 

Phase 3 commences from 1st July 2025, and requires that additional food and retail goods must be individually labelled. This includes  

• all fresh, frozen and processed fish,  

• all chilled or frozen composite products and some chilled plant products that require certification or controls at a border control post (BCP) 

• All pre-packed and sealed fruit and vegetables 

• All shelf-stable composite products, unless they are listed in the ‘Exemptions’ section 

• Other Product of Animal Origin (POAO) 

• Some cut flowers 

The guidance also lists products that are exempt from labelling requirements as well as a list of their commodity codes. 

How to register and seal consignments under NIRMS has also been updated. 

The updated guidance and link to the commodity code exemption list can be found here 

  

The Cabinet Office recently published an updated guide to making legislation. It is written with the needs of departmental teams in mind, to help them manage their work effectively, but is also a useful document for those wishing to gain a better understanding of the processes involved. 

The guide covers the procedures to follow when preparing primary legislation and taking it through Parliament from bidding for a slot in the legislative programme to gaining Royal Assent. 

It has been prepared by the Secretariat to the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee of Cabinet, with the advice of Parliamentary Counsel and the Offices of the Chief Whips, Leader of the House of Commons, Leader of the House of Lords and the Public Bill Offices of both Houses. 

The different stages are dealt with in chronological order with the start of each chapter providing a summary of key points. Checklists for each stage are also included in Appendix G.  

Note: While it should answer the most commonly asked questions it should not be regarded as an authoritative statement of parliamentary practice.  

The Guide can be downloaded here   

On 24th February the Government’s Animal Sentience Committee (ASC) published an independent report on the due regard to animal welfare – legislative compliance and enforcement. 

The report highlighted issues including inconsistencies in monitoring and enforcement of the legislation, discrepancies in actions taken by the different agencies responsible, and in welfare inspector training. 

The ASC highlighted that despite advances, an effective, structured, fair and integrated system of animal welfare surveillance and enforcement is lacking. This concern is widely recognised by some governmental and non-governmental organisations (NGO) such as the All-Parliamentary Group on Animal Welfare and the Animal Law Foundation.  

The issues surrounding animal welfare compliance and enforcement relate to inconsistencies in detection of offences, complexity of the legislative environment, resources, lack of coordinated inter-agency response, variable enforcer training and expertise, and transparency over the effectiveness of adequate reporting and enforcement. These are outlined in Section 1. 

You can read the report in full here  

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) have published a report which reveals that during January 2025, for the 3rd year running, sales of retail meat free products declined in volumes by 12.4%.  

Sales of plant-based dairy products also decreased whereas meat, fish, and poultry increased in volume by 1.4%, alongside cow’s dairy products.  

This data suggests that there is a declining engagement in Veganuary. Of those who took part, 1.29% are vegan all year round, 2.30% completed Veganuary and 2.06% did not. Of those who managed to maintain a vegan diet for the entire month, 39% stated they are not going to continue with the diet beyond January. 

Read more here