2. Scope of FSA and FSS advice
2.1 In line with their statutory responsibilities and policy roles, the FSA and FSS are providing advice focused on human health, including food safety and nutrition-related protections[1][2].
[1] “Nutrition” means legislation within scope of appendix II of the Nutrition Related Labelling, Composition and Standards Provisional Common Framework.
[2] The way UK Government and devolved administration work together across the four nations is set out in the Food and Feed Safety and Hygiene (FFSH) common framework.
For the purposes of this advice, any reference to food safety includes feed safety where it relates to human health, noting that feed safety in relation to animal health falls under the remit of the Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC), which also contributes to the Section 42 report. Nutrition policy across the UK is led by different bodies: the Department of Health and Social Care in England, the Welsh Government in Wales, Food Standards Scotland in Scotland, and the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland—where it operates as part of the UK-wide FSA. For this report, we have sought advice from FSA nutrition specialists in FSA Northern Ireland, and from FSS.
2.2 For the purposes of this assessment, “UK levels of statutory protection” are defined—as set out in the Agriculture Act 2020—as the legal protections in force across any part of the UK at the time this Section 42 report is issued. Because food safety and nutrition are devolved matters, legislation from all four nations is relevant to this analysis. This includes national laws that apply specifically in England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland. However, existing international obligations—such as those outlined in Article 1.2, which governs the relationship between the UK-India CETA and the Windsor Framework—fall outside the scope of this advice. As such, the CETA does not alter the application of laws already governed by those obligations. All references to UK statutory protections in this advice are therefore limited to the domestic legislation described above.
2.3 This advice does not extend to food standards unrelated to human health—such as rules of origin, geographical indications, organic certification, or advertising regulations—which fall outside the scope of this commission and of FSA and FSS remits as food safety authorities. Similarly, issues not directly linked to public health, including tariffs, technical specifications, trade facilitation, and market access rules outside of the scope of SPS measures, are excluded. Matters concerning statutory protections for animal and plant health, animal welfare, and environmental standards are addressed separately by the TAC.
2.4 Official controls apply to all food products imported to the UK and are carried out by competent authorities under the oversight of the FSA, FSS, and the UK and Devolved Governments. For India, these controls will remain in place under the new UK-India CETA, in a dynamic risk-based regime. This means there will still be a requirement for pre-notification of imports from India as well as necessary certification, supported by physical checks. Beyond routine checks, the FSA and FSS can also introduce emergency import restrictions or safeguards when necessary for any imports for any country. Examples of enhanced controls taking place in practice on foods imported from India are provided below in Section 11. The FSA and FSS also continue to work with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to assess applications for new market access, which is a separate process from Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. Market access for Products of Animal Origin (POAO) and enhanced checks based on risk for High-Risk Foods not of Animal Origin (HRFNAO) processes are not affected by this trade agreement and will continue to apply for trade with India.
2.5 As the UK’s independent food safety competent authorities, the FSA and FSS recognise the importance of upholding the UK’s high food safety standards and ensuring that trade agreements are subject to rigorous health impact assessments to safeguard consumers’ health. Stakeholder submissions to the Call for Evidence launched by both agencies on 1st August 2025 have received contributions from nine interested parties. In addressing these, our analysis has focused on the relevant provisions of the UK-India CETA and their interactions with the UK’s international obligations under the WTO and UK’s existing statutory protections for human health, including food and feed safety and nutrition. We also acknowledge that some of the issues raised fall outside our statutory remit and the scope of our contribution to the Section 42 report but are important to the public and will be considered as part this report where relevant.
2.6 In June 2025 and for the past few years, the FSA and FSS have provided retrospective insights into broader food trade issues through their joint publication, Our Food: An annual review of food standards across the UK. This report offers an evidence-based overview of trends, challenges, and developments in food standards, complementing the advice provided here. FSS and the FSA published research through their UK Food and You 2 Survey that cited that consumers are concerned about food produced outside the UK having the same hygiene, safety and integrity compared to food produced in the UK.