Corporate report

Government Chemist Review 2025

Referee casework, research projects, advice and impact of work carried out by the Government Chemist team during 2025.

• From: Government Chemist
• Published: 23 October 2026

Documents

Government Chemist Review 2025 (web optimised version)

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-6838-5, E03698498, CP 1701

PDF, 2.52 MB, 48 pages

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Government Chemist Review 2025 (large print version)

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-6838-5, E03698498, CP 1701

PDF, 8.9 MB, 88 pages

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Government Chemist Review 2025 (e-lay version)

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-6838-5, E03698498, CP 1701

PDF, 23.4 MB, 52 pages

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Details

The Government Chemist Annual Review 2025 provides a summary of the work undertaken by the Government Chemist to strengthen the UK’s food and feed measurement infrastructure by supporting government, regulators and industry address emerging technical and regulatory challenges.

The main topics described in this review are:

• referee cases: 7 disputes referred to the Government Chemist during 2025, covering issues including mercury in animal feed, formaldehyde migration from food contact materials, ethylene oxide in cumin, anthraquinone in curry powder, and aflatoxins in dried fruit
• emerging challenges and horizon scanning: the review highlights work on engineering biology, DNA synthesis and the proposed UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, helping government and the analytical community prepare for future regulatory and scientific challenges
• scientific advice and stakeholder support: the review describes advice provided to government, regulators and industry on topics including honey authenticity, cannabidiol (CBD), folic acid fortification and food contact materials, as well as responses to formal consultations
• capability building and research: the review showcases projects that are strengthening the UK’s analytical capability in areas such as alternative proteins, insect proteins, food adulteration, food packaging contaminants and engineering biology
• knowledge sharing and skills development: the review highlights training, publications, conferences, stakeholder networks and collaborative initiatives designed to build capability across the UK’s food and feed analytical community
• national and international engagement: the review demonstrates how the Government Chemist works with stakeholders across government, academia, industry and international networks to support food safety, authenticity, innovation and regulatory science