Welcome to the latest issue of the Monthly Munch. These past few weeks have been so busy that we’ve had to select six news stories instead of our usual four, so buckle up!
The UK was particularly active from a public health and environmental point of view. Following the success of the Soft Drinks Levy, the Treasury is proposing lowering the sugar threshold from which the tax applies and extending it to milk-based drinks (currently exempted). Meanwhile, the Department for Health and Social Care is once again delaying the entry into force of HFSS advertising restrictions to be able to deal with some loopholes in the regulation. The Advertising Standards Authority was also in the news as it ruled against the use of the term UPF on a food supplement and deem it potentially misleading for consumers. On the sustainability front, the EFRA Committee launched a Circular Economy Inquiry ahead of key Global Plastics Treaty talks to understand what caused the previous round of Treaty negotiations to stall and how consensus might be reached.
We have some big updates from the EU as well, with the publication of the EU Single Market Strategy and the Deforestation Regulation countries benchmarking list. The Single Market Strategy has been widely welcomed by businesses across Europe as it comes up with specific measures aimed to ensure harmonised enforcement of EU rules and the Mutual Recognition principle. The Deforestation Regulation country list has received a more ambiguous response, with some businesses grateful for the simplified requirements for imports from low-risk countries but environmental groups disappointed with the failure to reflect the true scale of deforestation.
Things have also been busy in the world of trade with the EU and the UK reaching an agreement to put an end to barriers. Our colleague Zoe Choulika does a deep dive into the agreement and what it will mean for industry.
Dive into these stories and more below.
The Whitehouse Food & Nutrition Team
POLICY AND REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
European Commission releases new strategy to boost trade within the Single Market
On 21st May, the European Commission adopted its new Single Market Strategy aimed at reducing barriers to commerce within the bloc. While in theory the EU Single Market allows businesses to operate across the whole of the European Union, many national regulations mean that, in practice, the EU remains 27 separate markets. The Strategy prioritises addressing the ten most harmful Single Market barriers. These include fragmented rules on packaging and labelling requirements and, administrative and reporting burdens enforced on companies with fewer than 750 employees. To tackle inadequate enforcement of EU rules, the Strategy looks at improving already existing mechanisms, such as the SOLVIT - a Europe-wide service that helps citizens and businesses exercise their Internal Market rights by solving problems they encounter with public authorities to ensure the implementation of the Mutual Recognition Principle – which is supposed to guarantee that any good lawfully sold in one EU country can be sold in another. The Strategy also creates a new enforcement mechanism in the form of a Single Market Enforcement Taskforce (SMET). Overall, the Strategy will look to improve trade within the Single Market through further harmonisation, less reporting duties for companies and more market enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance. Food and nutrition companies trading in multiple EU countries must look out for upcoming initiatives such as the Circular Economy Act expected in 2026, the Omnibus Regulation upcoming proposals in the last quarter of this year and a potential Single Market Barriers Prevention Act in 2027 to prepare for future changes.
Commission publishes Deforestation Regulation country benchmarking list
The European Commission has published its long-awaited list categorising countries by their deforestation risk under the new EU anti-deforestation legislation. Only four countries — Belarus, North Korea, Russia and Myanmar — are labelled “high risk,” meaning products imported from them will be subject to more stringent checks. Meanwhile, all EU member states, as well as countries such as the United States, Canada, China and Ghana, are deemed “low risk,” enabling companies to benefit from simplified due diligence requirements. Any country that is not labelled as high or low risk is considered standard risk. The Commission stated that the list is based on scientific data from the UN and published a document outlining the methodology used. The list will be reviewed regularly to account for any new data. The classification has had a mixed response. While industry stakeholders have welcomed less stringent due diligence requirements than initially feared, environmental groups have criticised the assessment for failing to reflect the true scale of ongoing deforestation.
EFRA Committee launches Circular Economy Inquiry ahead of key Global Plastics Treaty talks
On 20th May, the UK Parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) launched a new inquiry Preventing waste and enabling a circular economy, with its first open call for evidence focusing on the Global Plastics Treaty. The Committee will assess the UK Government’s progress towards a more circular economy and that the work of key regulators ensures that waste is sustainably managed. Despite international momentum - including the UN-led Global Plastics Treaty, which saw 175 countries commit to tackling plastic pollution - negotiations remain unresolved, with the reconvened second part of the talks (INC-5.2) scheduled between 5th – 14th August 2025 in Geneva. EFRA’s inquiry will examine the Treaty’s key elements, the UK’s leadership role, and the barriers to a final agreement. It will also consider broader issues such as extended producer responsibility (EPR), deposit return schemes, simpler recycling systems, plastic packaging tax, and efforts to reduce single-use items and waste crime. The Committee isaccepting evidence until 18th June and is particularly interested in what caused the previous round of Treaty negotiations to stall and how consensus might be reached.
UK HFSS advertising ban delayed until January 2026
On 22nd May, the UK government announced that it has postponed the implementation of restrictions banning adverts for products high in fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) on television before the 9pm watershed and online, moving the legal start date from 1st October 2025 to 5th January 2026. This is not the first time that the ban has been delayed, with the original rollout date planned for January 2023. The new delay follows concerns raised by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in January 2025 regarding legal loopholes, particularly around the regulation of “brand advertising” which does not explicitly feature HFSS products. The government intends to amend the law to ensure that brand-only advertising that does not show HFSS products is not caught under the rules. All the main retailers have agreed to already voluntarily implement the ban from October but, to allow time for consultation on the amended legislation, the legal ban will not take effect until 5thJanuary.
UK extends the scope of its tax on soft drinks
The UK government has proposed the extension of its Sugar Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) to milk-based drinks and milk substitute drinks while also lowering the minimum sugar content thresholds from which the tax applies from 5g to 4g total sugar per 100 ml. The proposal has created great tension with the soft drink industry, which had been previously acknowledged to have made great progress when it comes to sugar reduction. The SDIL is a tax on pre-packaged soft drinks with added sugar designed to incentivise products to be reformulated to just below the 5g sugar per 100 ml threshold. Based on the success of the Levy, the government is suggesting lowering the threshold to 4g and removing a current exemption for milk-based drinks whilst introducing a ‘lactose allowance’ to account for the natural sugars in milk. It also suggests removing the exemption for milk substitute drinks with ‘added sugars’ beyond those sugars derived from the principal ingredient, such as oats or rice. The public consultation is open for feedback until 21st July 2025 and led by revenue and customs as well as the treasury departments of the UK government.
ASA restricts Zoe’s claim of ‘ultra-processed-free’ wholefood supplement
On 21st May, the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that Zoe’s Daily30+ supplement can no longer claim to be free from ultra-processed ingredients. The ruling followed a complaint about a Facebook ad describing the supplement as a “plant-based wholefood” with “no ultra-processed pills, no shakes, just real food,”, which the ASA has deemed misleading. While the ASA acknowledged that the product does not qualify as an ultra-processed food (UPF) under the widely used NOVA classification system or under the UK House of Lords Food, Diet and Obesity Committee report’s definition of the term, it decided that consumer perception “was not likely aligned” with these frameworks. The ASA looked at studies into consumer awareness of UPFs, and while these are limited, they highlighted that consumers were likely to understand that UPFs generally were unhealthy and non-UPFs healthy, meaning that the use of the term “UPFs” could act as a deterrent to consuming certain products. Additionally, the watchdog identified at least two ingredients in the Daily30+ supplement - chicory root inulin and nutritional yeast - that undergo more than minimal processing, which consumers are likely to perceive as ultra-processed. Zoe disputes the ruling, arguing that Daily30+ consists entirely of wholefood ingredients and is not ultra-processed by scientific definitions. In response to ongoing debate, Zoe has developed its own UPF risk scale to better distinguish between levels of processing and address concerns about consumer perceptions.
Bridging the Channel: What the first EU-UK Summit means for food business
On Monday 19th May, presidents of the European Commission and Council, Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, respectively, and UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, met for the first ever EU-UK summit since the UK departed the bloc five years ago.
In a world where global politics is being reshaped almost daily – courtesy of an erratic and unpredictable Trump administration - this summit offered rare respite and a game-changing opportunity for the old frenemies to reset their relationship and explore new avenues for cooperation.
In the lead-up to the first serious forum since Brexit, intense negotiations produced a series of preliminary agreements spanning fisheries, food, defence, and even a potential youth free movement scheme. While at the summit itself, both sides explored deepening cooperation in energy, including discussions on linking their respective Emissions Trading Systems. They also agreed to strengthen collaboration on law enforcement, judicial cooperation, and tackling irregular migration.
While the finer details of these agreements will be clarified in the coming months, and more significantly, in 2026 during the review of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), UK businesses are minded to begin preparing for a shift toward closer regulatory alignment and deeper economic integration with the EU.
One of the summit’s key outcomes was a new 12-year reciprocal access arrangement, allowing EU boats to fish in UK waters and vice versa.
And although the UK will remain outside the EU’s fisheries rules and will retain the quota uplift agreed in the Brexit deal, British fishermen have nonetheless protested the move, labelling it a ‘horror show’.
For the British government, however, the deal represents a first step toward a long-awaited agreement on agri-foods — specifically, a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement aimed at reducing the burdensome bureaucratic barriers to food imports and exports at the border.
At present, the EU remains the most important trading partner for UK food and drink businesses, representing roughly 62% of exports and 76% of imports in 2024. Not only would it ease administrative burdens for businesses, it is also projected to benefit British consumers by improving product availability and lowering supermarket costs.
Additionally, the SPS agreement will help reduce the vast food safety backlog that continues to plague enforcement authorities at the border. Elsewhere, UK fisheries are also expected to benefit from the deal by removing protracted physical checks for British fish exports to the EU.
However, to facilitate the free-flowing trade of foodstuffs across the channel, the UK will be forced to mirror the EU’s food standards through a process known as “dynamic alignment”.
While the UK has already refrained from diverging further by rejecting American chlorinated chicken or hormone-treated beef from its market in a separate deal with the Trump administration, it will likely have to align even more closely with EU standards to ensure straight sailing for any SPS deal.
Plainly, the UK will have to maintain reciprocal regulatory standards with the EU and vice and versa to ensure a level playing field for businesses.
The UK may even participate at a technical level in shaping regulatory standards within the EU. However, crucially – unlike when it was a member of the bloc – it will no longer have the final say on those standards.
Zoe Choulika, Account Manager at Whitehouse Communications
WHO IS SHAPING THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS?
This month’s top industry initiatives selected by the Whitehouse team:
- Lucozade gets £6.3m packaging revamp to cut plastic use: Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I has invested £6.3 million to redesign Lucozade Energy bottles, replacing full plastic sleeves with half sleeves. This move will reduce sleeve weight by 60% and cuts 956 tonnes of plastic annually, while also improving recyclability and reducing water use during production. The update supports the company’s ambition to achieve 100% sustainable plastic by 2030, with the revamped bottles now rolling out in stores across the UK.
- Highland Spring backs solar power with Ochil Hills project: Highland Spring Group has partnered with SSE to develop a 7MW solar farm in Perthshire, supplying up to 25% of electricity to its Blackford site. Due to be operational by early 2026, the project supports Highland Spring’s zero-carbon goals and follows recent £10m investment at the site, including rail freight upgrades cutting 8,000 HGV trips and over 3,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually. It is also backed by £50m in green finance from Barclays and Bank of Scotland.
ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Open consultations
Engage with these consultations to shape the issues affecting your organisation:
- EFSA’s open call for expressions of interest in EFSA’s advice for Novel Food SMEs. Open until 12th June. (link)
- EFRA Select Committee’s open call on preventing waste and enabling a circular economy. Open until 18th June. (link)
- European Commission’s open call on towards a circular, regenerative and competitive bioeconomy. Open until 23rd June. (link)
- UK Environment Agency consultation on charge proposals for simpler recycling. Open until 15th July. (link)
- DEFRA consultation on proposed changes to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.Open until 21st July. (link)
- European Commission open call on simplification of the implementation of CAP Strategic Plans. Open until 22nd July. (link)
Get in touch: Andrea Gutierrez-Solana, Director, Food, Public Health and Sustainability andrea.solana@whitehousecomms.com