Welcome to the Retail, Food & Hospitality Regulatory & EU round-up. Week ending 02 November 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.

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Retail, Food & Hospitality Important updates

Government publishes new action plan on climate change: Following the court of appeal having found its first two climate change action plans to be unlawful after legal challenges mounted by Friends of the Earth and Client Earth the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has published a Carbon budget and growth delivery plan. The plan sets out the actions being taken across government to meet carbon budgets 4-6, from 2023-2037. The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs have also published detailed responses to 59 recommendations made by the independent Committee on Climate Change. Press release > Policy paper > British Chambers of Commerce > Climate Change Committee > Client Earth > Friends of the Earth >

Call for evidence issued to shape legislation on tobacco and vapes: The Department of Health and Social Care has decided that further evidence is required in a number of areas to support provisions of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill currently progressing through parliament. A call for evidence has been issued on the following topics:

substances and ingredients used to create flavours in vapes and nicotine products
levels of nicotine that should be permitted in nicotine-containing products
size and shape of vapes, vape-like devices and tanks, and the role of technology in these devices
proposal to introduce a new licensing scheme for selling tobacco, vaping and nicotine products
proposal to introduce a new product registration scheme in the UK.

Responses are required by 3 December. View >

Call for evidence issued on proposed Government AI Growth Lab: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has issued a call for evidence on plans to introduce a cross government AI growth lab to act as a pioneering cross-economy sandbox, that would oversee the deployment of AI-enabled products and services that current regulation hinders. The Lab would enable businesses and regulators to trial novel AI products and generate real-world evidence of their impact to speed-up regulatory approvals. The AI Growth Lab would enable controlled deployment of cutting-edge AI systems within live market environments, with targeted regulatory modifications where necessary. In partnership with sectoral regulators, the Lab would:

Operate issue specific sandboxes, focusing on sectors where there is opportunity for innovation and adoption, but where regulatory modification may be needed;
Grant time-limited regulatory exemptions to innovative firms and products which meet eligibility criteria - ‘sandbox pilots’;
Maintain rigorous oversight of sandbox pilots, designing limits and safeguards for regulatory modifications and carefully monitoring pilots; and
Recommend the conversion of successful pilots into regulatory reforms through recommendations for updated guidance, codes of practice, or statutory amendments.

DSIT are seeking views on how best to deliver the flexibility necessary for the sandbox to rapidly test and pilot temporary regulatory modifications with appropriate public and Parliamentary scrutiny. Primary legislation could confer on ministers a power to create individual sandboxes focused on a specific innovation via secondary legislation. This secondary legislation would enable time-limited, targeted modifications to specified sectoral regulations, if they are hindering AI adoption. In turn, licences for participant firms in the sandbox would specify innovation-specific safeguards, monitoring and restrictions.

Responses are required by 2 January. View >

Environment Agency to reduce scope of environmental permitting requirements: DEFRA Has announced as part of the Governments regulatory action plan its intention to allow the Environment Agency to remove permitting requirements for low risk activities subject to suitable risk assessment and public consultation. View >

Advertising watchdog upholds complaints re medicinal and curing of disease claims: The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that advertising for ‘Supreme CBD’ breached the advertising codes by implying use of the product could treat or cure human disease. The ASA has also ruled that advertising for ‘Sweet Bee Organics’ breached the codes by making medicinal claims for an unlicensed product. View > View >

EU updates

EU Regulations:

European Food Safety Authority opinions:

Developments to watch

Food Standards Scotland: Consult on proposed ban of Bisphenol A. Responses required by 16 January. View >

DEFRA: Publish updates on Avian Flu and Blue tongue disease outbreaks. View > View >

Department for Business and Trade: Publish matrix of key performance indicators for 16 national regulators. View >

For your information

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

WRAP: Join with other NGO’s calling on countries to cut their levels of food waste to combat climate change. View >

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