However, in line with international norms, citrus-based conserves will need to be distinguished as a separate type of product, and will have to be sold using the new legal name “citrus marmalade”.
The new name was already set to take effect in Northern Ireland this summer, under the 2023 Windsor framework deal that sees the province align with EU food laws automatically.
But the UK government has now revealed the updated marmalade decree is among 76 updated EU food-related laws that will apply in England, Wales and Scotland too if its wider food deal is agreed.
A timescale for the rule change in Britain is also yet to be confirmed, and it is unclear whether the updated rules will need to be in force before or after mid-2027, when Labour ministers hope the wider agreement will come into effect.
However, it is not clear whether regulators will allow products with names like “strawberry marmalade” to be sold in British supermarkets. This is not currently planned in Northern Ireland, under the legislation, external delivering the changes.
A previous assessment, external by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), responsible for labelling rules in England, found such a rule change “could be confusing for UK consumers”.
The department declined to specify whether it planned to relax labelling rules in this way, but told the BBC it was in touch with businesses affected by the new rules and would consider alignment “where it makes sense to do so”.