Director’s Weekly News – 30th July 2018

Barclays Brexit Update: Investors peer through a political fog to consider a broader set of scenarios. According to our latest survey, investors have taken on board the political turmoil following the Chequers Cabinet meeting and now seem more open to considering a wider range of potential scenarios than before, from political change to a softer stance on Brexit. The majority of investors still view the reversal of Brexit as highly unlikely; however, there has been a 10pp swing from those voting “unlikely” to now responding “maybe”. A similar swing can be seen for the UK remaining in the single market, with some investors shifting from “unlikely” to “maybe”. Prior to last week’s turbulence, investors had focused on the parliamentary debates and votes. The overall conclusion from investors on the “ping pong process” is that it has tilted negotiations toward a “softer” outlook for Brexit.

An increasing proportion of investors believe that contingency plans should be implemented immediately as the transition period is not guaranteed. A significant proportion still see Theresa May remaining Prime Minister until Mar’19; however, the number has fallen from a clear majority of over 60% to just 48%, the lowest level since the inception of the survey in Dec’17.

Furthermore, investors seem less concerned about the market impact of a leadership change following snap elections. The majority of investors had viewed a coalition led by the opposition party as a key market risk compared with all other scenarios. This proportion has now declined from nearly 70% in Jun’18 to just under 50% – again, the lowest level since the inception of the survey.

Investors remain deeply sceptical about an agreement on the Irish border being reached by the Oct’18 EU summit, despite the autumn deadline given by the EU.

 

 

Food enzymes DIY exposure tool launched by EFSA: The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published the Food Enzyme Intake Model (FEIM), a tool for estimating chronic dietary exposure to food enzymes used in different food processes. The user-friendly tool allows applicants, risk assessors and risk managers to estimate dietary exposure to food enzymes used in individual food manufacturing processes, such as baking or brewing. It can be accessed via the EFSA Knowledge Junction, and will be updated annually as more process-specific calculators are generated. The model follows the methodology recommended in 2016 by EFSA’s Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids (CEF). It has been developed on the basis of actual food consumption data collected by Member States and stored in the EFSA Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database.

 

ECJ extends application of GMO Directive: The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that in principle organisms obtained by mutagenesis are genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and are subject to the obligations laid down by the GMO Directive. It added that organisms obtained by mutagenesis techniques which have conventionally been used in a number of applications and have a long safety record are exempt from those obligations, on the understanding that Member States are free to subject them, in compliance with EU law, to the obligations laid down by the directive or to other obligations. This ruling reverses an earlier opinion from the European Court of Justice’s Advocate General.

Pesticides Monitoring: EFSA has published the report about the 2016 EU pesticides monitoring. More than 96% of samples analysed for the latest annual report on pesticide residues in food were found to be within legal limits and around 51% were free of any quantifiable residues. This report provides an insight into the official control activities carried out by EU Member States, Iceland and Norway in 2016. Based on the analytical results provided by the reporting countries, a detailed data analysis was performed regarding pesticide occurrence in the most important food products consumed and the dietary risk related to the exposure of European consumers to pesticide residues. The acute and chronic dietary risk assessment indicated that the probability of European citizens being exposed to pesticide residue levels that could lead to negative health outcomes was low.

Bread labelling: Responding to a question from Thelma Walker on the recommendations of the Honest Crust campaign on bread labelling, the Defra Minister, George Eustice, said that the Government is satisfied that compliance with existing relevant EU regulations on food information and general food law provides “robust protection to consumers against misleading practices”. He added that “there are no current plans to include a legal definition for sourdough within the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 but the baking industry itself may consider agreeing a code of practice about what should be described as a UK sourdough bread.”

EPs reject misleading use of shared labelling: The European Parliament’s (EP’s) Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE) has published a report stating that when a firm sells a product on an EU-wide basis, but with elements that differ from country to country, it must not label and brand the products in a way that makes them appear to be identical. MEPs have called for cross-border cooperation and data-sharing between national consumer protection and food authorities, consumer associations and the European Commission, in order to tackle the issue of “dual quality” products and ensure that the rules are enforced more consistently. The report will be put to a vote by all MEPs during the September EP plenary session.

Severe obesity in young children in England reaches record levels: Levels of severe obesity in children aged 10 to 11 years have reached the highest point since records began, according to new figures published by Public Health England (PHE). An analysis of the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) between 2006 to 2007 and 2016 to 2017 details trends in severe obesity for the first time. The NCMP records the height and weight of over 1 million children in Reception (aged 4 to 5 years) and Year 6 (aged 10 to 11 years) in school each year. The analysis also shows that stark health inequalities continue to widen. The prevalence of excess weight, obesity, overweight and severe obesity are all higher in the most deprived areas than in the least deprived. However, although there has been an upward trend of excess weight, obesity and severe obesity in Year 6 children, there has been a downward trend of excess weight, overweight, obesity and severe obesity in Reception age boys.

Brexit labour Issues: Settled Status scheme and labour mobility following release of the DExEU White paper. Legislation has been laid in Parliament on biometrics, immigration rules, and fees regulation, and subject to debate, will all be in effect for the pilot involving 3 universities and 12 NHS trusts in the North West to begin in late August. The whole Settled Status scheme will be rolled out by March 2019 and will be serviced by a case worker team of 1,500 based in Liverpool. Deal or no deal, the official line is that EU citizens won’t be asked to leave and will always be welcomed no matter the outcome, the deal affects the process that will need to be undertaken not the approach. Government Officials reiterated that although the ambitious deal with the EU means things won’t be the same as now, businesses and employers will be able to access the talent they need and the tap won’t suddenly be turned off.

CBI will be publishing a report looking at future immigration issues, and a sector by sector analysis. This report will now be launched on the 6 August and a summary of the policy recommendations and sector profile can be found here. The MAC report is expected in late September and the Immigration White Paper (publication TBC).

Environment Agency Benchmarking: Call for Interest: The Environment Agency is currently considering submitting a bid to the BEIS administered Regulators’ Pioneer Fund (announced last year as part of addressing the ‘Grand Challenges’ set out in the Industrial Strategy) for a two-year pilot project to help businesses in the food and drink sector benchmark their performance, particularly in the areas of energy, waste and water, along with how this can be improved through resource efficiency and wider corporate sustainability. Where innovation and efficiency correlates with reduced regulatory risk the programme will also look at how regulators can reward and recognise this. Bid submissions need to be received by 14 August.  If any member is potentially interested in taking part in this project please contact David Bellamy at FDF as soon as possible.

FDF Event 17 Oct | Future Regulation and Food Safety: As the UK’s exit from the EU fast approaches, this one day event will cover everything you need to know about the future UK regulation landscape for food and drink. Book your place for this event at FDF offices.