Calls for food labelling and ingredient rule relaxations as Ukraine crisis hits supply

Supermarket and supplier bosses have held emergency talks with the government to urge the relaxation of food labelling and ingredient laws to prevent the threat of food shortages caused by the war in Ukraine.

The Grocer understands Defra has indicated it will make a decision in the next few days on whether to allow companies to bypass the usual labelling requirements amid warnings of shortages across a raft of ingredients including sunflower oil and wheat. Talks have also been held with Food Standard Scotland (FSS), The Grocer understands.

With supermarkets stepping in to prevent the crisis causing food shortages and even further spikes in inflation, they are demanding flexibility over switching ingredients to alternative options.

Sources said Defra and the industry faced a complex task to ensure the changes safeguarded food safety and issues such as allergens, while allowing the supply chain to keep functioning.

A similar relaxation in labelling requirements took place at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. However, Ged Futter, founder of The Retail Mind, said the supply crisis facing the industry “makes Covid look like a walk in the park”.

Sources said the crisis would also heap renewed scrutiny on GSCOP, with the potential for a raft of short notice delistings.

The crisis has also opened the possibility to a hugely controversial supply chain shift, with palm oil one potential alternative for companies struggling to find sunflower oil. A leading supplier source said: “Palm oil is an alternative but lots of companies won’t want anything to do with it for environmental and brand reasons.”

The source added that other alternative ingredients such as soya also posed major challenges because of allergen regulations, while the use of corn oil posed questions over whether supplies would be GM free.

The source added: “Another key issue will of course be just how long these relaxations apply for.”

A leading wholesale source told The Grocer this week that more palm oil was already beginning to flow into the food and drink supply chain.