Last updated Friday 4th October 2024.
New draft guidance for food products to include allergy information
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published proposed plans to recommend allergy
labelling on all food products. While allergy labelling has been necessary on pre-packaged
food, the FSA is now considering new guidance that all non-packaged or loose food should
also have allergy information to warn customers about anything that might cause an
allergic reaction. They list 14 allergens that, if the recommendations are adopted, would
need to be labelled or displayed. Briefly, they are: celery, cereals containing gluten (such
as wheat, rye, barley, and oats), crustaceans (such as prawns, crabs and lobsters), eggs,
fish, lupin, milk, molluscs (such as mussels and oysters), mustard, peanuts, sesame,
soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites (if the sulphur dioxide and sulphites are at a
concentration of more than ten parts per million) and tree nuts (such as almonds,
hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts). It also
applies to additives, processing aids and any other substances which are present in the
final product.
They have published a draft consultation document for food shops such as coffee shops,
cafés, restaurants, delis and market stalls at Best Practice Guidance on Allergen
Information for Non-Prepacked Foods (PDF) in which they describe how food shops would be
advised to add allergen information. Part of the document says ‘Written allergen
information should be readily available, if possible, without consumers having to ask for it,
such as on the main menu, allergen booklet on a counter or matrix displayed on a wall in a
consumer accessible area’ and ‘Food businesses selling non-prepacked food through
distance selling such as online or by telephone should make written allergen information
available to the consumer before the food is ordered. Written allergen information should
also be provided upon delivery so the consumer can review it before eating the food. Care
should be taken to avoid cross contamination during transit and the consumer should be
informed if this is a risk’. Businesses can respond to this draft consultation about what the
impacts would be on your business by 27 November 2024 at the online survey.
Note: This guidance does not include any legal changes. It focuses only on best practice
guidance.
Read more at Food Standards Agency
Domestic gas and electricity prices have risen by 10%
The energy regulator Ofgem has increased the maximum price that can be charged for
each unit of domestic energy on a standard tariff for a typical dual-fuel household.
Between 1 October and 31 December, gas prices will be capped at 6.24 per kilowatt hour
(kWh), and electricity at 24.50p per kWh. The rise to £1,717 per year for a duel-fuel direct
debit household using a typical amount of energy is a £149 increase. Daily standing
charges also increase – electricity increases from 60.12p to 60.99p and gas from 31.41p
to 31.66p. The actual rates you are charged will depend on where you live, how you pay
your bill and the type of meter you have.
Currently there is no business energy price cap. Although the domestic energy price
cap does not directly affect businesses, there are still broader energy market conditions
that affect the domestic price cap that also indirectly affect businesses. When wholesale
energy prices rise, they tend to affect both domestic and business customers. Businesses
may see their energy costs increase, although the exact impact depends on the specifics
of their contracts.
Read more at BBC News
Workers to keep all customer tips under new law
Businesses have been banned from withholding tips or service charges from their staff
under new rules that have come into force. All tips, whether in cash or by card, must be
shared between workers by law in Britain, with millions of workers such as those working
for cafes, pubs, restaurants, taxi companies and hairdressers most likely to benefit.
If an employer breaks the law and retains tips, a worker will be able to bring a claim to an
employment tribunal. Many have welcomed the change, but some warned it could burden
businesses under pressure with an "additional cost". In 2021, the UK government said
80% of all tipping was taking place with a card, suggesting it had become easier for
businesses to keep the money. The Department for Business and Trade has predicted the
new law will mean a further £200m will be received by workers rather than their employers.
Read more at BBC News
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