Welcome to the Retail, Food & Hospitality Regulatory & EU round-up. Week ending 07 December 2025

This week’s regulatory developments in order of importance, so you can ensure you're up to date with the latest changes impacting your business. 

Retail, Food & Hospitality Important updates

Advertising codes amended to reflect new restrictions on high fat, salt and sugar foods: The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) have published the outcome of their consultation on rules and guidance to implement new legal restrictions on advertising food and drink products. From 5 January 2026, ads for “identifiable” less healthy food and drink products will be banned from appearing on television and on-demand programme services between 5:30am and 9:00pm and in paid online media at any time. View >

Advertising watchdog tackles fast fashion brands over ‘Sustainability claims’: Following proactive investigation of the use of environmental claims in the fast fashion sector the Advertising Standards Authority has upheld complaints about use of the word sustainable in advertising for Lacoste, Nike and Superdry. In each case the ASA ruled that following guidance issued by the Competition and Markets Authority that the product about which the term sustainable was used must as a whole have a positive environmental impact, or at least no adverse impact taking into account its full life cycle.  Lacoste > Nike > Superdry >

Consultation on potential licensing hours relaxation during the 2026 World Cup: The Home Office has launched a consultation proposing extending pub licensing hours in England and Wales to allow fans to come together and support the home nations.  The consultation proposes a potential extension to licensing hours for the semi-finals and final until 1:00am, if matches kick-off at 9:00pm or earlier.

Responses are required by 15^th January. Consultation > Press release >

One million pound penalty for inadequate age verification: Ofcom has fined AVS Group Ltd – which runs 18 adult websites – £1 million under the Online Safety Act 2025 for not having robust age checks in place, plus £50,000 for failing to respond to information requests. Under the UK’s Online Safety Act, sites that host pornographic material must use highly effective age assurance to prevent children from readily accessing that content. The business will face a £1k per day penalty until it satisfies OFCOM that it has highly effective age assurance in place across its 18 web sites. OFCOM has also imposed an ongoing penalty of £300 per day in respect of failure to respond to its information request. OFCOM has to date opened investigations into 92 online services, fined three providers, and some high-risk sites are no longer available to UK IP addresses. View >

EU updates

EU Commission: Publish evaluation of Directive on unfair trading practices in food supply chains: The Commission report summarises the main findings of the first evaluation of the Directive 2019/633 on unfair trading practices (UTPs) in the agricultural and food supply chain. The evaluation concludes, the Directive is already helping to promote a fairer and more balanced business environment in the agri-food chain across the EU. The report will feed directly into the Commission’s review the rules on unfair trading practices. and notably to address that farmers should not be forced to systematically sell their products below production costs. View >

EU DG Energy consult on Ecodesign and energy labelling for fridges: The public consultation has been launched as part of review of 4 EU regulations to encourage the manufacture of more energy-efficient refrigerators. The review aims to expand product requirements beyond energy efficiency and energy consumption to also cover reparability and recyclability, amongst others. The consultation process is designed in the form of 2 surveys on Ecodesign and energy labelling,  household fridges > and commercial fridges >  Responses are required by 26 February. View >

EU Regulations:

• On protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products: View >
• Approval of derogation for France to use aviation fuel biocide biobor JF. View >
• On UK HSE approval of biocides: Contrac Blox and Roban Oktablok >

European Food Safety Authority: Consult on draft opinion on dioxins and dioxin like PCB’s: EFSA experts confirmed the conclusion of the Authority’s previous assessments that dietary exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs is a health concern. tolerable weekly intake (TWI), has been set at 0.6 picograms per kilogram of body weight. Updated dietary exposure estimates from European countries indicate that the new TWI is exceeded in all age groups. – Responses required by 26^th January. View >

European Food Safety Authority opinions:

• novel foods: egg membrane collagen peptides > Haematococcus pluvialis containing astaxanthin > Rhizomucor pusillus biomass powder >
• food additive: jagua (genipin-glycine) >
• food contact material: phosphorous acid, triphenyl ester, polymer with alpha-hydro-omega-hydroxypoly[methyl1-2ethanediyl], C10-16 alkyl esters >

Developments to watch

DEFRA: Publish update on ongoing disease outbreaks: Blue Tongue > View > View > View > View > View > View > View >

Department for Transport: Launch call for evidence on regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles – Responses required by 5 March. View > View >

Food Standards Agencies: Publish guidance on cell cultivated products. View >

DEFRA: Publish Environmental improvement plan. View > Friends of the Earth >

For your information

Non-food product safety alerts: Office for Product Safety and Standards > EU Safety Gate > US Consumer Product Safety Commission >

Food Standards Scotland: Publish response to Competition and Markets Authority report on infant formula market. View >

Office for Product Safety and Standards: Publish research on consumer behaviour in online marketplaces. View >

National Audit Office: Publish ‘Regulation webinar 2025 on ‘Building trust in markets’. View >