Initial regulated product reforms coming next year
The news was shared during today’s FSA board meeting (18 September 2025) and follows plans announced back in March. A consultation also took place earlier this year, with approval by new government ministers following suit.
The changes will see the creation of a new public register of ‘regulated products’, which includes animal feed additives and food flavouring as well as some alternative proteins.
Presently, a Statutory Instrument must be laid before new products can be placed on the market. This is a painstakingly long process, which can add an additional six months to the already long approval period of two and a half years.
The new process will remove the need for products already on the market to be re-authorised after several years, in turn freeing up FSA capacity. Currently, 22% of regulated product applications are re-authorised.
The Good Food Institute (GFI) has welcomed the news, which it says will benefit a range of food sectors but adds that these measures should just be start.
“Alternative proteins can play a key role in boosting food security and growing the UK’s green economy. But to deliver these benefits while ensuring consumers can have confidence in new foods, the government must urgently bring forward more ambitious proposals such as collaborating on risk assessments with international partners and establishing a regulatory sandbox for cultivated meat,” insisted Linus Pardoe, UK policy manager at GFI Europe.
The FSA has assured that a thorough and evidence-based assessment of new products’ safety and nutritional value will be carried out before they can be sold in the UK, with ministers continuing to have the final say.
The UK uses a similar regulatory framework to the EU, but concerns have been raised about the increasing size of the agency’s post-Brexit work and capacity to keep pace.
As such, GFI Europe has called on the government to introduce more wide-ranging reforms, including producing accessible guidance for alternative protein companies planning to submit applications, sharing information about risk assessments with other trusted international regulators, and designing a new system for pre-market tastings.
It is also urging ministers to approve the FSA’s bid to create a regulatory sandbox for cultivated meat in next month’s budget. The GFI believes this will help the body can accelerate its understanding of the food safety aspects of cultivated meat.
In other news, Asda's co-owner has step down. Find out more here.
