Food and Feed Law: legislation review (April to June 2016)
A review of developments in food and feed law and related scientific and regulatory issues that affect the UK.
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This is the seventh in a series of quarterly reports that will provide regular updates on developments in food and feed law and related scientific and regulatory issues.
The outcome of the referendum on whether the UK should remain in the EU dominated the quarter and although in the longer term there will be significant legislative changes, in the short to medium term food and feed law will remain unaffected.
This report contains information on the major legislative change in the quarter: the new ‘Psychoactive Substances Act 2016’ that came into force across the UK on 26 May 2016. The analytical implications of the emerging priorities reported by the European Food Safety Authority, including development of standard risk-benefit assessment methods, common data collection/surveillance schemes and antimicrobial resistance, are described. This reports also discusses implications of the results of the first assessment of food crime in the UK published by the Food Standards Agency which highlighted the red meat sector, spirit counterfeiting and allergens as areas of concern. Other items of note include amendments for sampling and analysis for the official control of contaminants such as inorganic arsenic in foodstuffs and guidance on the assessment and protection of adulteration of herbs and spices.