UK Geographical Indications Scheme – Logo requirements

The deadline for displaying UKGI logos on agri-food GI products that are made in Great Britain, when sold in Great Britain, is 1 January 2024. The logos were introduced on 1 January 2021, at which time a 3-year transitional period was allowed for producers and retailers of qualifying products to adopt them.
The requirement to use these logos does not extend to wine or spirit drink GI products. More information on the responsibility to use the logos can be found on our gov.uk pages:

• Adding a logo to a protected food or drink name: follow the rules
• Protected geographical food and drink names: UK GI schemes

If you have any questions, or would like further information about the UK GI schemes, do not hesitate to contact protectedfoodnames@defra.gov.uk

UK government urges big business to tackle global hunger

On Monday 16 October, World Food Day, the UK announced a partnership to encourage major food companies to improve the impact of their products on consumers’ health. The UK’s £2 million package of support will allow Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI) to carry out assessments of the world’s largest food and drink companies, over a 2-year period, gathering data on factors including how healthy and sustainable their products are. They will also aim to capture for the first time how well they support and meet the needs of communities that are at risk of malnutrition and preventable deaths, specifically of women and children.

New wine reforms to boost investment and ease burdens on industry

Following the public consultation, Wine: reforms to retained EU law, the government has set out reforms for the wine sector, which will begin in 2024 and take advantage of our freedoms outside of the EU. These reforms are made possible by powers under the Retained EU Law Act, which are being used to remove constraints from our economy whilst ensuring our high standards are not compromised.

Smarter regulation and the regulatory landscape

DBT have published a call for evidence to understand:

• what works well and what could be improved in how regulators operate to deliver for the sectors they serve
• any further steps we can take to reform the existing stock of regulation on the UK statute book

This call for evidence closes at 11:59pm on 7 January 2024. 

Updating labelling guidance for no and low-alcohol alternatives

On 28 September, a public consultation was launched to seek views on whether to raise the threshold for describing a drink as ‘alcohol free’ to 0.5% alcohol by volume (ABV). The threshold in the UK is currently 0.05%.
The consultation is seeking your views on potential changes to the government’s guidance on low-alcohol descriptors and closes at 11:59pm on 23 November 2023. 

New bans and restrictions on polluting single-use plastics come into force

Government action to tackle the scourge of litter and protect the environment from plastic pollution ramps up this weekend, with bans and restrictions on a range of polluting single-use plastic items coming into force on Sunday 1 October.
We know many food businesses are already using reusable packaging and moving away from single use plastics to help protect the environment – click here to access a toolkit which you may find useful.

Next steps for the Windsor Framework

From 1 October 2023 the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme will offer a simplified process for moving pre-packaged retail food from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. Businesses will benefit from the new green lane arrangements, avoid extensive and costly certification and assurance processes and be able to move products that meet UK public health, organics and fisheries rules. Guidance for businesses can be found here, and you can sign up to webinars here.