Food Safety & Hygiene

CMA to issue consumer protection penalties of up to 10% of global turnover – greenwashing becomes more costly

29th April 2022
Food Safety & Hygiene, Insights, News & Insights, Richard Reichman
The government has announced that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will be given game-changing new powers to deal with consumer protection breaches. BCL partner Richard Reichman explores why those changes  are being implemented and what it means for greenwashing.

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You received a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice: What to do next

4th April 2022
Food Safety & Hygiene, Insights, News & Insights, Regulatory, Suzanne Gallagher

What is a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice?

The Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 (‘the 2013 Regulations’) set out various enforcement powers available to Food Standards Agency or local authority enforcement officers (‘Officer’).

Regulation 8 gives an Officer the authority to serve a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice (‘Notice’) on a Food Business Operator to address hygiene concerns that pose an imminent risk of injury to public health. The Notice is a serious and draconian step which prohibits certain operations of a food business; it can be tailored to a particular process or, as is often the case, may mean the immediate closure of the premises.

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Tesco receives highest ever food safety fine of £7.56 million for out of date food offences – a regulatory compliance warning for all businesses

22nd April 2021
Food Safety & Hygiene, Insights, News & Insights, Regulatory, Richard Reichman
On 19 April 2021, Tesco Stores Limited was fined £7.56 million at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to twenty-two out of date food offences which occurred at three of its stores in 2016 and 2017.  The level of fine is unparalleled in food safety prosecutions and one of the highest safety regulatory fines in recent memory.

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