The UK-EU SPS agreement: It is not just about animals and plants

When people hear the words "sanitary and phytosanitary agreement", they naturally think of border checks on meat and dairy, animal health certificates, and plant passports. That framing, while not wrong, risks causing a considerable number of food and drink businesses to conclude that this deal does not really affect them.

The updates issued by DEFRA in March and discussed by the FSA at the March Board meeting confirms that the UK-EU SPS Agreement is one of the most extensive pieces of regulatory realignment since Brexit.

Its scope extends well beyond the trade and movement of plants and animals to encompass food and feed safety; broader nutrition related areas such as food supplements, fortified foods, food for specific groups, nutrition and health claims, and nutrition labelling; wider agri-food rules related to food labelling, organics, key agri-food marketing standards and compositional standards; as well as the regulation of pesticides and biocides.

UK businesses will need to meet EU rules within the scope of the agreement, whether trading with the EU or serving only the UK market. This is not a deal that affects only exporters or importers. It reaches inside the domestic market.

Dynamic alignment: What it actually means

The UK and the EU set out their intention to work towards an Agreement based on dynamic alignment with relevant EU SPS rules, meaning that Great Britain and the EU would apply equivalent standards to goods moving within a shared SPS area, subject to a short list of limited exceptions.

Dynamic alignment means that a substantial programme of legislative change in Great Britain will be required, alongside operational changes for industry, regulators, and delivery partners. In practice, it means the UK will not simply adopt a fixed snapshot of EU law and move on. The UK will track EU rules as they evolve over time, across every area within scope of the agreement.

The FSA has noted that the Agreement would introduce significant changes to food safety law and regulatory processes, whilst also offering opportunities for strengthened cooperation with EU competent authorities, which could enhance consumer protection and reduce friction for businesses trading in agri-food goods.

The full scope of legislative change

DEFRA has published a list of EU legislation expected to fall within scope of the agreement. Businesses may need to take action to comply with these requirements, and it is expected that in many cases these rules will replace, and not add to, current rules. The breadth of that list is striking.

General food law and consumer information

Food manufacturing, retail, and import/export operations will see changes resulting from alignment with EU food law, updating areas such as UK requirements on risk analysis, traceability, and consumer information. The legislation in scope here includes Regulation 178/2002 on General Food Law, Regulation 1169/2011 on Food Information to Consumers, and Regulation 1924/2006 on Nutrition and Health Claims.

Food additives, flavourings, supplements and novel foods

This is one of the areas likely to catch businesses by surprise. Alignment with EU rules will affect ingredient suppliers, specialist manufacturers such as infant formula producers, testing laboratories, retailers, and relevant industry bodies, updating requirements on additives, enzymes, contaminants, novel foods, and marketing. The legislation in scope includes Regulations on food additives, food enzymes, flavourings, smoke flavourings, contaminants, novel foods, food supplements, the addition of vitamins and minerals, and foods for specific groups including infant formula.

Marketing standards for specific foods

Producers and suppliers of the products covered by these rules will need to adapt their product formulations, processing methods and/or labelling to meet EU requirements. The products covered include coffee and chicory extracts, cocoa and chocolate products, honey, sugars, fruit juices, fruit jams, jellies and marmalades, certain preserved and dehydrated milk products, and marketing standards elements under the Common Market Organisation Regulation.

Food contact materials

Most rules on food contact materials are broadly aligned with EU rules, though there are some changes including on individual permitted materials and authorisation processes for some plastics. Alignment with EU rules on plastics, ceramics and other food contact materials will affect packaging manufacturers, food processors, laboratories, and retailers updating requirements for food contact safety, testing standards and permitted materials.

Genetically modified organisms

Alignment with EU GMO controls will affect biotech companies, seed suppliers and feed manufacturers updating requirements for authorisation, traceability and labelling of genetically modified organisms and products derived from them.

Plant protection products and biocides

Alignment with EU rules on active substances authorisation, residue levels and the placing on the market of plant protection products will have implications for farmers and growers, agrochemical manufacturers, distributors, food retailers and other businesses using plant protection products, requiring updates to approval processes, compliance with EU residue limits in food, and adherence to EU rules governing the marketing and use of these products.

Alignment with EU rules on biocidal active substance approval and product authorisation will affect manufacturers, distributors, and users of biocidal products, requiring adherence to EU requirements governing their availability and use, with potential impacts on product authorisation, labelling, supply chains, and operational practices across the biocides sector.

And yes - the traditional SPS areas too

Of course, the agreement also covers what most people would recognise as classic SPS territory. Alignment with EU animal health frameworks will affect farmers, breeders, traders, veterinary authorities, public health agencies, the equine sector, pet owners, food processors and processors handling by-products, updating surveillance, identification, registration and movement systems for live animals, germinal products, and animal by-products.

But the critical point is this: businesses that assumed the SPS Agreement was primarily a farming and logistics story need to update their thinking urgently.

Who is affected? Almost everyone in the sector

DEFRA has set out a broad list of sectors that will be in scope:

• Food, feed and drink businesses facing changes to hygiene rules, food law, additives, pesticide maximum residue levels, marketing standards, labelling and food contact materials.
• Retailers and wholesalers facing changes to consumer information, compositional standards, traceability, labelling and sourcing requirements.
• Importers and exporters of SPS goods facing changes to certification, checks, official controls, and digital systems.
• Pesticide and biocide manufacturers and suppliers facing changes to active substance approvals, product authorisations, and maximum residue levels.

For some rules, there has been little divergence with the EU, and the change businesses will see will be minimal. For others, there will have been divergence since our exit from the EU and changes will need to be made.

The scale of the challenge for business

Many businesses already meet EU requirements because they export to the EU, while others, particularly domestic only SMEs, may be less familiar with EU rules and may need additional support to prepare.

The FSA has noted that some of the technical changes required under dynamic alignment will take time for businesses to prepare for. Through early engagement, businesses have indicated that a period of 12 to 24 months but it is the government's intent that the agreement will take effect in mid-2027, leaving business little time to get ready for the changes.

The FSA and DEFRA have been working with industry to identify whether there are specific areas where there is a strong case for additional time-limited transitional arrangements to support a smooth transition; however, any such arrangements cannot be guaranteed and would depend on the outcome of negotiations.

What businesses should do now

The message from DEFRA and the FSA is unambiguous: do not wait for the final agreement text.

Businesses can take the following steps now: engage with their relevant trade body or industry association; engage with their supply chain to understand any changes that may apply to them; sign up for DEFRA email alerts, follow DEFRA on LinkedIn and join the mailing list to receive the latest information on negotiations, implementation timelines and guidance; and respond to the Call for Information to share their views on what support their business needs to prepare.

DEFRA will provide detailed guidance and support starting in May 2026 so that businesses are ready to take full advantage from day one. Early engagement will help familiarise sectors with the potential implications of dynamic alignment, and will form the basis for more detailed, sector-specific guidance over the course of 2026-27.

The bottom line

The EU-UK SPS Agreement is not a niche deal for farmers, vets and port health authorities. It is a wide-ranging legislative realignment that will touch almost every part of the food and drink sector, from the composition of a chocolate bar to the labelling of a food supplement, from the packaging materials around a ready meal to the authorisation status of a pesticide residue.

The government's intention that the new EU-UK SPS Agreement will take effect from mid-2027 leaves little time for businesses to be ready and so early and active engagement as this agreement progresses through the negotiation phases is critical. We will keep you updated with all the key developments with a focus on the May 2026 DEFRA guidance; the next key milestone date for businesses.