Post-Brexit Food Labeling Challenges Continue

Several years have passed since the UK voted to withdraw from the European Union, and food labeling challenges and opportunities continue to arise. The EU member states have always had some differences in labeling legislation but were mostly consistent. One major divergence between UK and EU labeling is country of origin labeling. From January 2021, EU legislation required that either UK or non-EU labeling be included on products sold within Europe. In the UK, food producers can continue to list the source as EU until September 2022. Another divergence following the UK withdrawal from the EU is the change of regulatory agencies with EFSA no longer providing commercial authorization for UK food businesses.  For now, health and nutrition claims requirements remain the same, and currently there is pressure for consistency. Different claims application processes exist, so there is potential for divergence. In terms of novel foods, the UK continues to follow the EU criteria, and there is a parallel pathway to facilitate novel foods approval in both the UK and EU concurrently.

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