Welcome to the Retail, Food & Hospitality Regulatory & EU round-up. Week ending 08 March 2026.

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.

Sign up now to receive the next edition direct to your inbox

Retail, Food & Hospitality Important updates

Consultation launched on ‘growing up in an online world’: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has launched a consultation on potential for age restrictions on social media and other services such as gaming sites and AI chatbots, restrictions on addictive design features and risky functionalities and better support for parents and families. The consultation also explores how age verification and age assurance technologies can support effective implementation, whether guidance on the use of mobile phones in schools should be put on a statutory footing and clearer guidance and simpler parental controls. The consultation also explores how age verification enforcement should be strengthened.

Responses are required by 26^th May.

Consultation > Press release >

Contract law in Scotland updated: Following recommendations of the Scottish Law Commission the Scottish parliament has passed the Contract (Formation and Remedies) (Scotland) Bill which sets out rules on when a contract comes into force - including in situations where parties are still negotiating some terms - and allows parties to claim back what they have provided if a contract breaks down due to a serious failure by the other party. The Bill also makes it clearer when a party can withhold payment, goods or services if the other side fails to hold up their end of the agreement. View >

Research report aims to quantify damage caused by unsafe consumer products: A report for the Office for Product Safety and Standards represents the first comprehensive attempt to develop an evidence-based approach for estimating consumer and business detriment caused by unsafe and non-compliant products on the UK market. Detriment levels were estimated at between £40 and £400 per individual product item depending on consumer product category. No overall figure is given. View >

EU updates

DG Taxation and Customs highlight extent of import of unsafe consumer products: EU Customs authorities have carried out a coordinated exercise to explore compliance levels of imported cosmetic products, personal protective equipment and food supplements. Close to 6000 pieces of cosmetics, including for example skincare products, toothpastes, make-up, hair and nail products were checked. 65% of those products did not comply with EU product standards. The largest share (63%) of these non-compliant cosmetics products was of Chinese origin, followed by the United Kingdom and the United States of America, representing together 93% of the non-compliant cosmetics products found during the control action. Over 2000 pieces of personal protective equipment products were also checked including bike helmets, gloves, ear protection, sunglasses, swimming googles or life vests. 60% of those products did not comply with EU product standards. 91 % of the non-compliant personal protective equipment was found to be of Chinese origin, with a further 6% originating from the United States of America. Close to 3500 pieces of food supplements were checked, including protein powder, booster supplements, dietary supplements, herbal preparations and vitamins. The United States of America, China, and the United Kingdom were the leading countries of origin for non-compliant food supplements.

View > BEUC >

EU Restricts use of meat terms in move to protect farmers: The EU Council and Parliament have provisionally agreed a proposal to protect farmers by strengthening producer organisations but also by restricting a large number of terms associated with meat to meat products (i.e banning their use in respect of vegetarian alternatives). The terms included are beef, veal, pork, poultry, chicken, turkey, duck, goose, lamb, mutton, ovine, goat, drumstick, tenderloin, sirloin, flank, loin, steak, ribs, shoulder, shank, chop, wing, breast, liver, thigh, brisket, ribeye, T-bone, rump and bacon. View > View > BEUC >

European Food Safety Authority opinions:

Safety of feed additives: Enterococcus lactis > alpha-galactosidase L-Lysine sulfate
Safety of enzymes: papain > trypsin >
Evaluation of health claim: Anxiofit-1 >

EU Decisions:

Authorising genetically modified food ingredients: maize > sugar beet >

Developments to watch

DEFRA: Launch trial of new Avian flu vaccine for commercial poultry. View >

British Retail Consortium: Publish letter with other trade bodies calling on Welsh Government to appoint administrator for packaging deposit return scheme.

View >

Advertising Standards Authority: Uphold complaint re use of the term ‘Food Grown’ where synthetic ingredient used. View >

Office for Product Safety and Standards: Publish technical guidance note on the testing of sand for consumer products for asbestos fibres. View >

For your information

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

Department for Business and Trade: Publish full list of UK national bodies with regulatory functions. View >

Office for Product Safety and Standards: Launch awareness campaign on the safe use and disposal of vapes. View > View >

Update preferences

Unsubscribe

Only access by the addressee is authorised. Any liability (in negligence, contract or otherwise) arising from any third party taking any action, or refraining from taking any action on the basis of any of the information contained in this e-mail is hereby excluded. In the event that you are not the addressee, please notify the sender immediately. Do not discuss, disclose the contents to any person, or store or copy the information in any medium or use it for any purpose whatsoever. Copyright in this e-mail (and any attachments created by DWF Law LLP, belongs to DWF Law LLP which asserts the right to be identified as such and hereby objects to any misuse thereof. For the avoidance of doubt, DWF Law LLP does not accept service of documents by e-mail, and the use of e-mail does not imply that it is willing to do so, unless otherwise expressly agreed.

DWF Law LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales (registered number OC423384) with its registered office at 1 Scott Place, 2 Hardman Street, Manchester M3 3AA. DWF Law LLP is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority as an Alternative Business Structure. Our professional code of conduct can be accessed at https://www.sra.org.uk DWF Law LLP is listed on the Financial Services Register as an Exempt Professional Firm, able to carry out certain insurance mediation activities (regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority). The term 'Partner' is used to refer to a Member of DWF Law LLP or an employee or consultant with equivalent standing and qualification. A list of the Members of DWF Law LLP and of the Non-Members who are designated as Partners is open to inspection at our registered office, DWF Law LLP, 1 Scott Place, 2 Hardman Street, Manchester,Greater Manchester,M3 3AA,England. The recipient of this e-mail will, at all times, be dealing with DWF Law LLP unless it is clear from the context or specifically attributed to another DWF group entity unless it is clear from the context or specifically attributed to DWF in Ireland.