Sep 1st, 2022
3 mins
The Government Chemist published on 16 August 2022 a report on the findings of a stakeholder workshop carried out on 6 June 2022 at the Royal Society of Chemistry in London. The workshop was held to establish the key divers influencing the food and feed sector, to which the proposed Government Chemist Programme 2023-2026 should respond. Thirty stakeholders from across the food and feed sector, including representatives from manufacturers, distributors, retailers, importers, regulators, legal and government generated in excess of 320 ideas in the initial brainstorming phase. Participants then decided the following as priorities:
- Food authenticity and food fraud prevention
- Food security Food Law Alert Page 10 of 38 25/08/2022
- Alternative proteins
- Contaminants in novel foods, packaging and recycled materials
- Environmental claims / food labelling
- Gene Editing / GMOs
- Data capture, mining and effective use/misinformation
- Enhanced surveillance
- New regulations for novel foods
- Skills – gaps, availability and training
Other concerns highlighted, related to global food shortages, ethical kite marks/verification and ownership of new plant/genetic species (e.g., Nagoya protocol). Based on these identified priorities, the Office of the Government Chemist will prepare a draft future work programme for further prioritisation by BEIS appointed Programme Expert Group in November 2022, to allow contracting and start of the finally agreed programme in April 2023.
To read the report, click here.
