Global regulatory consulting services

Navigating global food regulations can be complex — that’s where we come in. Leatherhead Food Research supports clients across 150+ markets with tailored, science-led regulatory advice. Our multilingual team, fluent in over 50 languages, helps you confidently manage labelling, claims, novel foods, additives, and food contact materials. Whether you’re launching in new markets or adapting to evolving legislation, we provide clear guidance, proactive alerts, and strategic insight. With deep scientific expertise and cultural understanding, we help you stay compliant, reduce risk, and accelerate time to market — so you can focus on innovation and growth.

Core regulatory areas include

• Ingredient assessment (botanicals, novel foods, additives and flavourings)
• Labelling advice (naming of products and ingredients, front of pack nutrition labelling, allergen labelling and recycling logos)
• Claims assessments for nutrition, heath and marketing claims
• Products-specific advice – compositional requirements and labelling
• Packaging and Food Contact Materials (FCM)
• Technology assessment, for example genetic technologies (i.e., precision fermentation / cell culture), nanotechnologies, enzyme technologies, and UV / ozone treatments
• Food safety and hygiene provisions (pesticides and contaminants)

In a fast-moving industry, early awareness is everything. Leatherhead Food Research helps you anticipate regulatory changes, emerging risks, and market shifts—so you can act with confidence. Our expert-led horizon scanning service delivers tailored insights that support proactive decision-making, reduce compliance risk, and unlock new opportunities.

From evolving legislation to disruptive trends, we help you stay informed, prepared, and future-ready – so you can focus on innovation and growth.

We can help you

• Spot policy trends to facilitate advocacy strategy planning
• Establish meaningful links between multinational policy discussions
• Monitor, compile, and assess relevant background information
• Support and substantiate your arguments with up-to-date scientific evidence
• Identify, evaluate and recommend advocacy partners such as trade associations

Bringing a regulatory lens to your front-end innovation pipeline helps avoid costly setbacks later. Leatherhead Food Research provides confidential, expert-led reviews that guide your product development journey from idea to market with early risk identification, regulatory compliance, and streamlined market entry at the point of concept development.

We support your R&D teams with clear, actionable guidance tailored to your target markets. From navigating fragmented global regulations to prioritising globally viable innovations, our reviews reduce rework, protect margins, and accelerate launch readiness, so you can innovate with confidence.

We can help you with

• Ingredient & technology review: We assess recipes, novel ingredients, and technologies for regulatory feasibility and market potential
• Claim assessment: We evaluate health, nutrition, and sustainability claims, ensuring compliance through risk analysis and scientific substantiation
• Market strategy: We identify regulatory risks, assess launch readiness, and support entry planning—from labelling to advertising

Leatherhead Food Research ensures your formulations and labels meet regulatory requirements with precision. Our experts review every detail – from ingredient specifications to the final labels – ensuring compliance with local and international standards. We provide end-to-end support, guiding you through complex regulations with practical, risk-based advice. Our team also translates and adapts labels for global markets, aligning with regional standards and consumer expectations. With ongoing monitoring of regulatory changes and deep international expertise, we help you stay compliant, protect your brand, and build consumer trust.

End-to-end artwork compliance support

• Formulation and specification review
• Pack copy creation, including cooking instructions if required
• Translation and adaptation to target market language and standards
• Artwork check / label assessment to ensure copy and formatting is transposed appropriately
• Pragmatic recommendations that reflect the full regulatory environment

Leatherhead Food Research provides end-to-end support for dossier approvals, helping you meet regulatory requirements with confidence. Our experts guide you through the complex approval processes for ingredients, additives, food contact materials, and health claims, offering tailored strategies to achieve compliance. We specialise in preparing and submitting robust, evidence-backed dossiers for EU/UK, US GRAS, and other global markets. Whether you’re seeking approval for a novel food or substantiating a health claim, we streamline the process to reduce time to market and ensure regulatory success. With deep scientific expertise and regulatory insight, we help you bring innovation to market safely and efficiently.

We can support you with

• Dossier qualification: Realistic assessments of the time, resources and investment required to develop a submission-ready dossier, enabling informed decision-making from the outset
• Gap analysis: Thorough evaluation of your existing data and documentation to identify missing or incomplete elements critical to regulatory approval
• Comprehensive support: Preparation and submission of EU/UK pre-market approval dossiers, US GRAS dossiers, and pre-market registration dossiers
• Expert guidance: Access to a multidisciplinary team, including former regulators with hands-on approval experience, and toxicologists who advise on and oversee safety studies
• Regulatory authority engagement: Ongoing support in responding to authority queries, helping to manage the review process and reduce pressure on your internal teams

Leatherhead Food Research helps food and beverage manufacturers navigate complex packaging regulations, including the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and global sustainability mandates.

We provide expert guidance to ensure compliance, reduce risk, and support sustainability goals. From recyclability standards and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to reuse and refill systems, we translate regulatory requirements into practical, actionable strategies that keep you ahead of change.

We can help you with

• Regulatory & compliance support: Assess packaging against EU PPWR and global rules, identify gaps, and ensure compliance with EPR and DRS requirements, including labelling
• Global insight & innovation: Plan for reuse/refill systems and stay ahead with intelligence on packaging waste regulations across key international markets
• Food Contact Materials (FCM): Check FCM compliance and support with Declaration of Conformity (DoC)