In addition to practising as a barrister in England and Wales and as a solicitor in Ireland, Ian regularly speaks at conferences and lectures on academic courses.
In January and February 2026 Ian made the following presentations:
27 January at Technological University Dublin to students on the MSc course in Applied Culinary Nutrition on the Development of Food Law and Policy.
10 February online as part of the Legal Training Consultancy’s Annual Food Law Conference. Ian spoke on the topic of Allergen Labelling, Natasha’s Law and What’s Next.
10 February 2026 online to students at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Ian spoke about UK Food Law as part of a module entitled ‘National Food Laws in a Comparative Perspective’.
27 January 2026 – Technological University of Dublin – MSc in Applied Culinary Nutrition
This in-person lecture is part of the Food Regulatory Affairs module and Ian spoke about the Development of Food Law and Policy. This is an annual commitment for Ian, and this guest lecture covered a wide range of topics from legal definitions of food and related concepts, the general principles of food law, a history of food fraud, food law at EU and domestic level, official controls, allergens and he discussed contemporary food law policy issues. This lecture is given at the start of term to a small group of students with differing food backgrounds. They were happy to ask questions which kept me on my toes and led to a lively debate about the food issues of interest to them, even if it did derail my carefully planned timings!
Thanks, as always to Annette Sweeney for the invitation and for the pre-lecture lunch.
10 February 2026 – The Legal Training Consultancy –
This is another of Ian’s annual commitments and at this year’s online conference, Ian mentioned some well-publicised cases involving people who have died from consuming food containing a substance or ingredient to which they were allergic.
To bring home the personal tragedy behind the effects of legal non-compliance, Ian provided the delegates with some background information about what happened to Natasha Ednan-Laperouse after she consumed food containing sesame. Although the labelling of that allergen was in accordance with the legal requirements at the time, it was said to be not as clear and prominent as it could have been.
There followed a change in the law to required food that is prepacked for direct sale to be labelled with the applicable 14 specified allergens. Ian mentioned possible future developments including ‘Owen’s Law’ (following the death of Owen Carey – campaigning for clear allergen labelling on menus) and ‘Benedict’s Law’ (following the death of Benedict Blythe – campaigning for improved allergy policies in schools). In this latter case, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill contains a clause requiring schools in England to have an allergy and anaphylaxis policy.
Thanks to David Jacobs for the invitation to participate and to Jessica Burt of Mills and Reeve solicitors for Chairing the conference so expertly.
10 February 2026 – Wageningen University – UK Food Law
Ian was invited to prevent an online lecture to students undertaking a Master’s degree in food Regulatory Affairs. His lecture was part of the course entitled ‘National Food Laws in a Comparative Perspective’.
Ian spoke about UK food law to a student cohort of scientists rather than lawyers. During the lecture Ian explained how the UK comprises four nations and how Great Britain and Northern Ireland are different in terms of the applicable version of food law. He also described the impact of food law being a devolved policy area in the UK and how this impacts on policy and the enactment of legislation in the various jurisdictions.
He provided a brief history of the UK before, during and after its membership of the European Union and discussed the potential for closer ties between the UK and the EU in the coming months.
Having discussed some specific UK food laws on quality, safety, hygiene and labelling, Ian concluded with a brief discussion about regulatory divergence and the impact this has had within the UK and on UK/EU relations.
Thanks to Dr Francesco Montanari and Dr Mirta Alessandrini for inviting me to participate.
If all goes well, I might be invited to present next year’s lecture in person in the Netherlands!