Amending the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 and the Bread and Flour Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Consultation opened on 01 September 2022. Closing date 23 November 2022.

Summary

The Bread and Flour regulations primarily provide for the compulsory addition of certain nutrients to non-wholemeal wheat flour to protect public health. Although this consultation is being led by DEFRA and others, the Department has an interest in the public health proposals which include making certain adjustments to nutrients already present in flour and additionally includes proposals for folic acid with the aim of improving public health outcomes for the UK population. Proposals also aim to clarify and simplify the requirements which aim to support UK industry, assist enforcement authorities and protect consumers.

Consultation description

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) alongside the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland, Food Standards Agency in Wales (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) have agreed to work on this review together under the Food Compositional Standards and Labelling provisional common framework in efforts to align UK policy as far as possible. This consultation is also being held in conjunction with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Welsh Government, Scottish Government and Department of Health Northern Ireland who have responsibility for matters of public health. The addition of folic acid to flour will be considered by officials from across the UK under the Nutrition Labelling and Composition Standards (NLCS) framework as the addition of vitamins and minerals to food fall within the scope of this framework.

This consultation is led by Defra and FSA and will be available on Citizen Space https://consult.defra.gov.uk/food-compositional-standards/bread-and-flour-consultation-2022

Responses should go directly to breadandflour2022@defra.gov.uk   which is specifically set up for this consultation.

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