The statutory instrument published on legislation.gov.uk makes a narrow change to England’s food supplement rules. The Nutrition (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 permit magnesium L-threonate monohydrate to be used as a source of magnesium in the manufacture of food supplements. The legislation record shows the instrument was made on 20 April 2026, laid before Parliament on 21 April 2026 and will come into force on 12 August 2026. The amendment sits within the post-EU-exit nutrition regime maintained through the Nutrition (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
The legal change itself is brief. Regulation 2 amends Schedule 2 to the 2019 Regulations by inserting magnesium L-threonate monohydrate into Part B of the table listing permitted mineral substances for use in food supplements. The drafting also draws a standard but important territorial distinction. The instrument extends to England and Wales, but the text states that it applies to England only. For policy and compliance purposes, this is an England-only change within a wider legal extent formula.
The preamble states that the Secretary of State made the Regulations using the powers conferred by regulation 2(2) of the 2019 Regulations and in accordance with regulation 5(1). The explanatory material further records that those powers are exercised by the Secretary of State as the appropriate authority for regulations applying in relation to England. The instrument was signed on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care by Sharon Hodgson, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, on 20 April 2026. The legislation also records that an open and transparent consultation took place in line with Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, the general food law measure referenced in the instrument.
The explanatory note attached to the legislation says the policy effect is to permit this mineral substance as a source of magnesium in the manufacture of food supplements. The amendment does not rewrite the wider regime. On the face of the text, it adds one named substance to an existing permitted list and leaves the rest of the framework in place. For manufacturers, importers and compliance teams serving the England market, the practical effect is correspondingly limited. From 12 August 2026, formulations using magnesium L-threonate monohydrate can be assessed against an updated Schedule 2 list, while existing rules outside this narrow amendment continue to apply.
The legislation’s note also says that no impact assessment has been produced because no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen. That statement is consistent with the tight drafting of the instrument, which does not impose a new approval system or create additional reporting duties. In practical terms, the measure is mainly about legal certainty for product formulation. Businesses considering this magnesium source gain a clearer domestic basis for use in food supplements for the England market, while ministers are signalling that the wider economic and administrative effects should be modest.
The 2026 Regulations also sit within a pattern of incremental amendment rather than broad reform. The note records that Schedule 2 was previously updated by S.I. 2023/28, which added magnesium citrate malate to the same table of permitted minerals. That context matters because it shows how this area of food law is being adjusted through targeted statutory instruments. For most consumers, the immediate effect appears limited. For firms developing or reformulating food supplements for sale in England, however, the permitted substances list will need to be read as updated from 12 August 2026, alongside the Explanatory Memorandum published with the instrument.