Trade and Regulatory Affairs: Year two and gaining momentum

As the Trade and Regulatory Affairs function moves into its second year, it still feels new, full of ambition, but with much work still to do. What’s exciting is how quickly it has become a key support function for the organic sector.

The work we do isn’t always visible, but at its core, our function exists to strengthen and futureproof the organic food and drink sector.

We do this by monitoring emerging UK and EU regulations, shaping policy with evidence and real‑world insight, engaging key stakeholders to drive action on critical issues, and keeping the organic trade informed so businesses can seize opportunities and avoid barriers. Here are some of the highlights of our impact during a busy second year.

Trade highlights: a busy and impactful year

Supporting export ambitions and the English Organic Action Plan

This year we didn’t just talk about exports – we acted. We hosted a webinar for aspiring organic exporters and partnered with the Food & Drink Exporters Association (FDEA) to support its bold 35x35 ambition: raising UK food and drink exports to £35 billion by 2035.

We also took the sector’s concerns directly to the Minister of State for the Department for Business and Trade, pressing the need to address the UK’s trade imbalance by supporting both domestic organic production and businesses seeking new overseas markets.

A personal highlight for me was receiving a letter from the Defra Minister giving definitive confirmation of the government’s intention to launch an Organic Action Plan for England, laying the groundwork for future trade support.

That intention looks like it’s getting closer to action, with Minister of State Dame Angela Eagle meeting Soil Association Certification CEO Dominic Robinson and other members of the English Organic Forum at Riverford this month to plan the final stages in anticipation of a launch in the summer. Behind the scenes, we’ve been:

• making the commercial and trade case for a national plan

• providing evidence of how support will benefit the sector and the wider UK

• highlighting priority areas for the plan, such as data, supply chain resilience, and consumer motivation

We hope to see this advocacy work reflected in imminent government action.

Shaping the UK’s approach to EU alignment

Ahead of the government’s announcements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) alignment, we gathered views from across the organic trade to inform multiple consultations, including a key Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee call for evidence on the future of EU trade, sharing Defra calls for information and feeding into standing Defra committees.

Ensuring organic voices are heard in these processes is essential – and we made sure they were. As negotiations continue, we’ll continue to represent and inform the sector as it prepares to meet EU regulation and controls.

Building global collaboration on consumer communications

From Warsaw to Copenhagen, the role has taken me to three major EU conferences, sharing insights on European markets and consumer trends. At Biofach in Nuremberg, I joined a consumer communication panel discussion which revealed that consumers aren’t so different, wherever they’re from.

As an output, we’re helping kick‑off what we hope will become a global initiative: a regular forum for communications professionals from organic trade bodies worldwide to share what works – and what doesn’t – when communicating organic to consumers.

Regulatory Affairs highlights: Defending organic and championing transparency

Protecting organic coexistence with precision‑bred organisms (PBOs)

With new Genetic Technology regulations now passed, the challenge of keeping organic supply chains separate from precision‑bred organisms has started to become very real.

We’ve been calling for voluntary separation protocols since the law changed and participating in subsequent initiatives to help shape them. But progress has been slow in the face of resistance to our ask and dismissal of our concerns.

Some of these long-held concerns were validated dramatically in this month.

After personally attending a Judicial Review at the Royal Courts of Justice, I was hugely relieved to learn of the High Court ruling: the government advisors had given the Farming Minister incorrect legal advice, leading to decisions deemed irrational and unlawful. Soil Association Certification evidence – which had taken many months of hard work to gather – was cited repeatedly.

It was a powerful moment of accountability for the sector and will hopefully result in a rethink on legislation which, in its current form, could be a significant burden to the organic sector.

Championing honest, transparent and clear food labelling

We believe transparency in food labelling ultimately benefits organic businesses. That’s why we continue to monitor developments on sustainability metrics and Ecoscores, which, if executed poorly, could fail to acknowledge the benefits of organic.

Whilst keeping on top of this, we’ve also been working with NGOs to lobby MPs for clearer, more honest labelling frameworks. We initiated client lobbying on proposed Mandatory Method of Production Labelling, which saw numerous MPs raise the issue during a parliamentary debate on the proposed changes.

Navigating the complex EU green claims regulation

While we’ve been engaging with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on UK Green Claims Guidance, we’ve also been digging into the more complex EU regulatory landscape.

The Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (ECGT) legislation will soon restrict sustainability labels and claims for products sold in the EU. With help from organic experts in the EU, we’ve put considerable time into clarifying the implications and produced guidance for UK businesses preparing for the September deadline.

Next steps for our work

Moving into the rest of 2026, we’ll keep scouring the regulatory horizon and tackling the issues we believe are material to the sector.

If you’re an organic business and you have concerns about food and drink regulations that could create a barrier, or you see an opportunity, do drop me and my colleague Calico Shaw a line at regulatoryaffairs@soilassociation.org.

In the meantime, keep an eye out for updates on our website and via Trade News emails.