Regulation and the search for certainty
Our research does not point to a sector united in its view of regulation. That in itself is revealing.
The proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement, and the dynamic alignment of food standards it would introduce, could represent a significant change for food and agribusinesses across the supply chain. Yet the findings are almost evenly divided between businesses expecting alignment to help, hinder or make no difference to them.
Dynamic alignment: Winners and losers
Will dynamic alignment of food standards with the EU help or hinder your business?
Help
Hinder
No difference
Closer UK-EU alignment may reduce friction for some exporters or businesses operating across European supply chains.
Businesses will also need to understand what alignment means in practice across areas such as product specifications, animal health, packaging and labelling, pesticide use and authorisations, as well as more specialist areas such as novel foods and gene-edited products.
The key question is therefore not simply whether businesses want regulatory certainty. It's certainty about what, when and how.
Businesses need sufficient visibility to understand what needs to change, how implementation will work and where the commercial consequences will fall.
"Differing regulatory approaches to areas such as novel foods, sustainability and food technology can materially affect the speed and cost of bringing products to market. For UK businesses, regulatory divergence is therefore more than a compliance issue. It can influence investment decisions and international competitiveness."
Jessica Burt Food Law Associate
The day-to-day regulatory burden
Which UK regulatory bodies do you currently spend the most time worrying about?
24%
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA, DAERA)
22%
Environment Agency (EA)
18%
Health & Safety Executive (HSE)
13%
Food Standards Agency (FSA, FSS, FSAI)
6%
Competition & Markets Authority (CMA)
It's important to distinguish major but less frequent regulatory issues from the regulators that affect businesses routinely.
The practical significance of regulation lies not simply in the quantity of rules, but in their consistency, implementation and enforcement.
"The regulatory landscape for food and agri continues to be in flux. The creation of new regulators, such as the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator, alongside incoming requirements arising from the UK-EU SPS agreement, means that regulatory change is becoming the new normal. Against this backdrop, horizon scanning and understanding what is coming down the track will be increasingly important for businesses across the sector."
Katrina Anderson Consumer and Food Regulatory Partner, Mills & Reeve
The takeaway
The food and agribusiness sector may never speak with one voice on regulation. A change that removes a barrier for one business can create a new requirement for another. The priority is therefore not certainty in the abstract, but sufficient clarity to make informed commercial decisions.
"The regulatory burden on food and agribusinesses is not confined to new rules and new regulators. Established authorities, such as the Competition and Markets Authority, continue to scrutinise food and grocery markets closely, given their importance to consumers and household budgets.
"Against that backdrop, businesses need to factor competition compliance into both strategic decisions, including consolidation and collaboration, and their day-to-day commercial activities."
Nicola Holmes Competition Lawyer, Mills & Reeve
