Food law | UK Regulatory Outlook February 2026

UK 

Government confirms plans to update Nutrient Profile Model affecting HFSS product classifications 

The Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed in its impact statement for the 10-year health plan for England its intention to replace the current nutrient profile model (NPM) with an updated 2018 version, which will change how products are classified as high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) and, therefore, are subject to advertising restrictions, promotional controls and placement rules. 

The NPM is the scoring system that determines whether a product is classified as "less healthy" and falls within HFSS restrictions. The current model was developed in 2004/05 and the government has now published the outcome of its review confirming the shift to the updated model.  

Changes include assessing free sugars (capped at 5% of total dietary energy) instead of total sugars (previously 21% of food energy), aligning with the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition's 2015 advice on sugar; reducing the reference energy level from 8,950 kJ to 8,400 kJ; using salt (6g) rather than sodium (2,400mg) to align with everyday nutrition messaging; increasing the protein reference from 42g to 45g; raising the fibre requirement from 24g AOAC (the Association of Official Analytical Chemists method) to 30g AOAC; and counting seeds alongside fruit, vegetables and nuts as beneficial components. 

These changes will bring more products within scope of HFSS restrictions and move some products out of scope, with significant implications for food and drink brands, retailers and advertisers. Businesses may face knock-on effects for marketing strategies, promotional activity, in-store and online placement.  

Whilst the updated NPM is not being applied immediately, the government has confirmed that policy application will be consulted on in due course. No timeline has been provided for implementation, but businesses should begin assessing which products may be affected by the future changes. 

Commons select committee report addresses UK-EU agritrade 

The House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee has published a report on the government's negotiations with the EU over the trade of meat, plant and animal products. 

The committee in its fifth report of session 2024-26 recommends that in any future agreement, ministers should seek a Swiss-style exemption from the principle of dynamic alignment with the EU regarding animal welfare standards, noting that Switzerland has been granted the right to continue applying its own national laws on welfare standards for farmed animals, animal transport, consumer labelling related to forced feeding and other painful procedures, and import bans on furs produced in a cruel manner. The committee also calls for the government to seek an exemption from dynamic alignment with EU regulations for the growing and selling of precision-bred products in England, to preserve the first-mover advantage created by England's Precision Breeding Act. 

Further, the committee recommends that the government should publish detailed plans for parliamentary scrutiny of the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement and any future EU legislation that would be assimilated into UK law once within a common SPS area, and secure an implementation period of at least 24 months for sectors to make necessary adjustments. 

EU 

EU task force on import controls on food safety 

The European Commission has established a task force which will focus on food and feed safety, pesticide residues and coordinated EU monitoring actions on specific imported products. 

The task force will contribute to further harmonising of import controls across the EU, developing recommendations for joint actions between the Commission and Member States and identifying where additional administrative or regulatory measures are needed to strengthen controls. 

It brings together expertise from the Commission and Member States, and was formally launched in the margins of a Council meeting on 26 January 2026. It builds on the implementation dialogue on import controls held in December 2025, when the Commission announced a reinforcement of its actions in this area. The central goal is to ensure imports meet Union standards while supporting the jobs and growth of EU producers and to verify that all imports fulfil the same high standards as products from the EU itself. 

The task force aligns with broader EU measures including a 50 percent increase in audits of non-EU countries and stricter rules on products containing traces of pesticides banned in the EU, which may result in increased scrutiny and compliance expectations for importers, particularly for higher-risk products and origins.  

EU adopts regulation on enforcement cooperation for unfair trading practices in the agrifood supply chain 

The European Parliament has formally adopted at first reading a regulation on co-operation among enforcement authorities responsible for enforcing Directive (EU) 2019/633 on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain. 

The regulation aims to protect European farmers from unfair trading practices by buyers of agricultural products by improving transnational co-operation in cases where suppliers and buyers are located in different Member States. It introduces a mutual assistance mechanism enabling national enforcement authorities to request and exchange information and collaborate on investigations related to unfair trading practices. National enforcement authorities will also be able to coordinate enforcement actions and notify other Member States about decisions related to unfair trading practices. 

The regulation contains specific provisions for co-operation between Member States in cases of unfair trading practices by buyers from outside the EU. Following the informal trialogue agreement on 12 November 2025, the Council is expected to formally adopt the regulation at one of its forthcoming meetings, after which it will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. It will enter into force 20 days after publication and apply 18 months later. 

Buyers in the agrifood supply chain should be aware that enforcement authorities across Member States will be able to coordinate investigations and share information on unfair trading practices, increasing scrutiny of commercial practices such as late payments, unilateral contract changes and short-notice cancellations, even where suppliers and buyers are located in different Member States.