Brexit: taking food safety with us

Though the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020, the date many food industry professionals will be looking out for is 31 December 2023, when the Retained EU Law Bill will be revoked. Members of the food industry vocalised their feelings at Westminster Congress Centre in January of being left in the dark when it comes to regulatory changes and food safety advancements.

On 26 January 2023, I sat among various business owners and advisers to hear what panellists had to say about the UK’s next steps for food regulation and standards post-Brexit.

Summarising numerous outlooks at the event, Dominic Watkins, Head of Retail and Hospitality at legal service group DWF, said that even though “we all want certainty and we all want consistency, we don’t know what regulations are going to be” come next January, meaning it is “very difficult to plan ahead”.