Consumer Products - food & drink

Welcome to the home of consumer products - food and drink on Law-Now.

On this page you can access the very latest updates on the food and drink sector here. TheseLaw-Now updates cover all aspects of the supply chain and real industry issues, such as improving yield, cutting costs and reducing environmental impact. As consumer product legislation differs around the world, you will find updates from CMS' industry experts here.

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Recent Articles

  •  
    07/04/2025
    United Kingdom

    The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme will go live from 1st July 2025

    The government has announced that the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme will go live from 1st July this year.The Scheme requires the registration of:Arrangements to undertake political influence activities in the UK that are directed by a foreign power (the “Political Influence Tier”); andArrangements with foreign entities for such activities as may be specified (the “Enhanced Tier”).Arrangements registered under the Political Influence Tier will, subject to some exceptions, be published on a publicly available register.A key intent behind the Scheme is to increase transparency...
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  •  
    20/03/2025
    Spain

    The Spanish Supreme Court allows the “Alicante torpedo”

    1. SummaryOn 14 January 2025, the Spanish Supreme Court ruled that both the EUTM Court and the Alicante Court of Appeal shall have suspended the trademark infringement proceedings ex officio, even though the defendant had not requested the suspension, until the EUIPO decides on the invalidity request filed after the infringement claim was brought.2. Details on the caseLast July 2018, the wine company Vega Sicilia initiated infringement proceedings against Bodegas Sanviver, S.L. on the basis of its EUTM No 3181971 “Unico”, granted in 2013 to distinguish goods in class 33 (wines), in...
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  •  
    21/02/2025
    Europe

    Ambitious binding EU targets to reduce food waste and encourage the circularity of textiles

    In February 2025, the Council and European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a proposal for a targeted revision of the Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC), with the aim of significantly reducing food and textile waste in the EU.Food waste reduction targetsThe provisional agreement, originally proposed in July 2023, would set the first-ever binding targets to be established at EU level to address 88 million tonnes of food wasted annually in the EU. Specifically, the agreement introduces the following food waste reduction targets to be met at national level by 2030: 10%...
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  •  
    19/02/2025
    France

    Internal in­vest­ig­a­tions in France: why HR should consider using a lawyer?

    According to a French recent survey, when an alert is reported, it leads to an internal investigation in 61.11% of cases, but also to disciplinary measures (28.89%) and a review of the company's processes (23.33%) (source: Ethicorp and the French Association of the in-house Jurists (AFJE)) Internal investigations have been common practice in the US for a while but are now developing in France, particularly in financial, economic and governance matters, but the employment field is not left behind, thanks to the increasing use of whistleblowing policies. The above-mentioned figures demonstrate...
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  •  
    18/02/2025
    CEE

    The EU AI Act’s ten key points of AI literacy

    Under the EU Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, by 2 February 2025 all organisations must ensure that their staff are AI literate, whether they participate in the AI value chain as providers or as users (or deployers).Beyond the general provisions in Article 4 on AI literacy, the AI Act does not specify the measures organisations must take to develop AI literacy with their staff and among others involved in operating or using AI systems on their behalf.Practical compliance may be facilitated by using the guidelines issued by the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) in early...
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  •  
    06/02/2025
    Hungary

    Hungary issues decrees on cybersecurity audit and annual supervision fee

    On 31 January 2025, Hungary published two highly anticipated cybersecurity decrees under the Hungarian Cybersecurity Act, which transposes the NIS2 Directive. The decrees include SZTFH Decree 1/2025 (I. 31.), which contains the procedures for conducting a cybersecurity audit and the maximum fee for a cybersecurity audit; and SZTFH Decree 2/2025 (I. 31.), which details the amount and payment of the yearly cybersecurity supervision fee.Scope of cybersecurity auditsSZTFH Decree 1/2025 (I. 31.) lays down detailed rules on audit methodology, related examination methods, and the criteria for evaluating...
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