The following is a LinkedIn article by Product Recall Practice Leader Natasha Catchpole.
UK exports grew by nearly 10% in 2016 with the global sales of UK food and drink hitting the £20bn mark for the first time. As our largest export market, we rely on EU member countries for trade.
So far the industry is faring well, at 2017 half year figures our Food and Drink exports once up again 8.5% on 2016, attributable to sales to the EU block, with our top market being Ireland. You can view the export snapshot produced by the FDF here: https://www.fdf.org.uk/publicgeneral/FDF-exports-h1-2017.pdf
Regardless, manufacturers should be aware of the effect of change to our consumer law. As it currently stands, it is a combination of home-grown UK law (based on the Consumer Rights Act 2015) and EU derived law.
How we structure our regulations going forward will dictate how our food and beverage industry stands from a competitive and trade standpoint. Issues will likely arise if the EU changes or adds to its product liability laws going forward, at which point, not being an EEA member will then provide the UK government with the choice of either implementing the laws or allowing businesses to make that call individually.
Should a change in regulation initiate increased regulatory activity, our policy’s ‘government actions’ section will provide cover when the FSA recommends a food or drink recall due to health risks.
