Food labelling suspended in UK?

MrsA2 said:

BBC News - Sunflower oil: UK bottler has a few weeks' supply left
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60941091
I wasreading this news article with as mug grin knowing I didn't use seed oils, or products with them in, when near the bottom it says manufacturers can swap ingredients WITHOUT changing the labels for 12 week!!!
Was anyone else aware of this?
Can anyone point me to the legislation that allows this?

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Well if the swap is from sunflower oil to rapeseed oil as the article suggests, the ingredients list will still feature a seed oil. Sounds like it’s a temporary arrangement.

Looking at some of the junky foods illustrated I wonder if we are at the beginning of a great natural experiment here. Will people suffer if they can't afford to buy this lot?

I think there may be limits on what they can do in those 12 weeks. I read a similar article about free range v caged eggs and bird flu. Apparently they can be kept indoors for 12 weeks and sold as free range before they have to be relabelled. Many places have now hit that 12 weeks on that issue.

HSSS said:

I think there may be limits on what they can do in those 12 weeks. I read a similar article about free range v caged eggs and bird flu. Apparently they can be kept indoors for 12 weeks and sold as free range before they have to be relabelled. Many places have now hit that 12 weeks on that issue.

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Think they have to use the term Barn eggs for that variant of free range confined to barracks.

MrsA2 said:

But I don't think its just oils!

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To be honest as I buy so few things with more than 1 or 2 ingredients this feels like a non-issue for me.

The business to do with sunflower oil is connected to the war in Ukraine and supply issues.

This is the information from the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland:-
https://www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts...food-products-to-avoid-food-supply-disruption

NicoleC1971 said:

Looking at some of the junky foods illustrated I wonder if we are at the beginning of a great natural experiment here. Will people suffer if they can't afford to buy this lot?

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To be honest, the lack of any major food item impacts every one. In fact its likely to impact people who have other very selective eating habits. If you eat anything and can sub stuff out, then the above is no issue. If all you eat this above then your out of luck.

Equally though, when Seed oils become scarce, the average person isn't going to go without oils, they will just pick an alternative (as will the producers of these products). So seed oils will becomes scarce and more expensive, so animal fats will become scarse and more expensive.

Its a bad news story for every one.

There's always butter. The dairy industry could do with a bigger market since the Food Police did such a good job of demonising animal products.

You may experience a slight change of flavour in your favourite crisps and waffles. Also some fake butter spreads. It also has medical uses in some laxatives, and also in cholesterol lowering spreads and marges.

Watch for the cry of dismay when ice creams and chocolates go on short supply. especially low fat variants.

Chinese takewaways use it for their stirfrys due to its very high smoke point.

As a counterweight to this problem from WebMD
"A diet that is high in sunflower oil seems to increase fasting insulin and blood sugar levels. It also seems to increase after-meal blood fats. This might increase the chance of developing "hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) in people with diabetes."

Free range poultry meat is also affected by the Avian Flu housing order, so fresh free range chickens and chicken pies aren't available either.
the Ukraine issue issue will also affect us due to significant amounts of Barley (mainly for brewing) and wheat (for flour) are sourced from Ukraine.

Most of the fish that is "commodity" ie the fish that comes in fish fingers or fish pies is caught by Russian fishing vessels so will be subject to higher tariffs. There is not enough fish coming out of Iceland and scandinavia to fill the gap in the Russian harvested fish were to be switched off.

Sunflower Oil - the decision to allow use of rapeseed oil was agreed by the DEFRA minister, it is only allowed to be replaced by REFINED rape seed oil without needing special permission. That means that replacement by other oils can be used but they will need to be approved on a product by product basis by Food Standards Agency before change can be made. The change to rapeseed without label change can only occur where the sunflower oil is only referenced in the ingredients listing. if there is a front of pack claim eg "Fried in Sunflower Oil" then that claim will need to be moderated via inkjet labelling or over stickering.