From: Tariq Hassan, Associate, Commercial Disputes

To: [Candidate], Trainee Solicitor (Commercial Disputes)

Date: 10 March 2026

Subject: Bramwell & Sons - briefing needed

Hi,

Elena's in back-to-back client meetings until 3pm and has asked me to get this over to you. This one's landed for Bramwell & Sons Ltd, an artisan bakery based in Bristol. Some background: Bramwell was founded in 1962 as a traditional family bakery and rebranded in 2019 as “Bramwell Free From,” a specialist gluten-free and allergen-free bakery brand. It supplies bread, pastries, and snack bars to supermarkets, cafes, and health food shops across the South West and Wales. Annual revenue is around £18 million, they employ around 95 people, and the CEO is Owen Bramwell. They recently signed a major supply agreement with the supermarket chain Wintons to stock their granola bars and bread rolls nationally from Q3 2026, and their marketing leans heavily on a roster of paid social media brand ambassadors.

Elena needs a briefing email from you before she's back at 3pm today. Specifically, could you:

1. Summarise the situation, including the key facts.
2. Identify the key risks and issues for Bramwell & Sons.
3. Recommend next steps.
4. Identify any further information you would want to obtain, and from whom.

This should take you around 1 hour – you're not expected to cover everything in exhaustive detail, so prioritise issues based on risk exposure.

You're not expected to know the law in detail; where it's relevant, I've set it out in simple terms in the materials below. Where you're not sure, please flag it as a legal question that needs to be checked rather than trying to state the law yourself.

Thanks,

Tariq

TCLA Wiper LLP - Commercial Disputes Team

Prepared by: Tariq Hassan, Associate

Date: 10 March 2026

Re: Bramwell & Sons Ltd - Allergen Mislabelling Incident

On 1 March 2026, a customer, Daniel Foster, suffered a severe allergic reaction after eating a “Bramwell Free From” granola bar purchased from a Bristol health food shop. The product was labelled gluten-free and nut-free, but is believed to have contained trace almond as a result of cross-contamination in a flour blend supplied by Bramwell's ingredient supplier, Millstone Ingredients Ltd. Mr Foster was hospitalised overnight and has since been discharged; he is recovering at home.

Bramwell's quality team identified the likely source of contamination on 2 March, following an internal investigation prompted by the hospital's report. An independent laboratory confirmed on 5 March that the flour blend used in the affected batch contained almond protein. Bramwell issued a voluntary recall of the affected batch (Batch Ref: GF-0221) on 6 March, covering approximately 40,000 units already distributed to retailers.

Under general food law (retained EU law, Regulation (EC) 178/2002), a food business that considers a food it has placed on the market is injurious to health must immediately notify the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and take effective steps to withdraw or recall it. In simple terms: there is no fixed statutory grace period - the obligation arises as soon as the business “considers” there is a risk to health. Bramwell notified the FSA on 6 March, the same day as the recall - four days after the contamination was first suspected internally. There is likely to be a question as to when Bramwell ought reasonably to have “considered” that there was a risk.

Bramwell has instructed an external food safety consultancy, SureSource Labs, to carry out a full root-cause audit; their report is expected on 17 March. Bramwell's insurer, Castlemead Underwriters, has been notified and has requested full documentation. The policy has a £50,000 excess and a £2 million indemnity limit.

Document 2: Press Article

THE BRISTOL COURIER

9 March 2026

“Bristol Bakery Recalls Snack Bars After Allergy Scare — Customer Hospitalised, Wintons Deal In Doubt”

Bramwell & Sons, the Bristol-based “free-from” bakery brand, is facing scrutiny after recalling a batch of granola bars linked to a serious allergic reaction.

The company, which describes itself as “Bristol's original allergen-free bakery,” said in a statement that it was “aware of an isolated labelling issue” and was “working closely with the Food Standards Agency.”

Alison Whitfield, of the allergy charity SafeBite, told the Courier: “Undeclared allergens are not a minor labelling slip - for someone with a nut allergy, this can be the difference between a scare and a fatality. Cross-contamination has to be treated as seriously as the industry claims to treat it.”

Katie Foster, sister of the hospitalised customer, said: “Daniel checked the label like he always does. He trusted this brand because it built its whole reputation on being safe for people like him. That trust is gone.”

Bramwell's planned national listing with supermarket chain Wintons, due to launch in Q3 2026, is reportedly “under review” following the recall, according to a source close to the retailer.

The recall has also put a spotlight on Bramwell's marketing, which leans heavily on paid social media “brand ambassadors” who built their own followings partly on the back of the company's allergen safety claims. At least one prominent ambassador appears to have gone quiet online since the story broke, while another has posted in the company's defence - see Document 3 for details.

A Bramwell spokesperson said: “We take allergen safety extremely seriously and are conducting a full review of our supply chain testing procedures.”

Document 3: Social Media Extracts

Screenshots gathered by Bramwell's marketing team, 9–10 March 2026

Agreement between Bramwell & Sons Ltd (“the Client”) and Millstone Ingredients Ltd (“the Supplier”)

Dated: 1 April 2022

Term: 4 years (to 31 March 2026), with automatic 12-month renewal unless terminated

Clause 6: Product Specification and Compliance

6.1 The Supplier warrants that all ingredients supplied under this Agreement shall conform to the agreed specification set out in Schedule 2, shall be accurately labelled as to allergen content, and shall comply with all applicable food safety legislation.

6.2 The Supplier shall maintain a valid Allergen Control Certification (or equivalent third-party accreditation) throughout the term of this Agreement and shall provide evidence of current certification to the Client upon request.

6.3 The Supplier shall notify the Client in writing within 24 hours of becoming aware of any actual or suspected non-conformity with clause 6.1 affecting any ingredient already supplied to the Client.

Clause 9: Indemnity

9.1 The Supplier shall indemnify the Client against all losses, costs, claims, and expenses arising from any breach of clause 6, including the reasonable costs of any product recall or withdrawal.

9.2 The indemnity in clause 9.1 shall not extend to indirect or consequential losses, including loss of profit or loss of business opportunity.

Clause 11: Limitation of Liability

11.1 Subject to clause 11.2, the Supplier's total aggregate liability under or in connection with this Agreement shall not exceed 150% of the value of goods supplied to the Client in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

11.2 Nothing in this Agreement shall exclude or limit liability for fraud, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any other liability that cannot be excluded by law.

Clause 14: Termination

14.1 Either party may terminate this Agreement by giving not less than 6 months' written notice to the other party.

14.2 Either party may terminate this Agreement immediately by written notice if the other party commits a material breach and fails to remedy that breach within 21 days of receiving written notice specifying the breach.

Document 5: Brand Ambassador Agreement Extract

Agreement between Bramwell & Sons Ltd (“the Company”) and Ella Novak (“the Ambassador”)

Dated: 1 February 2024

Term: 2 years (to 31 January 2026). Renewed by mutual written agreement on 15 January 2026 for a further 12 months (to 31 January 2027).

Clause 4: Content Commitments

4.1 The Ambassador shall post a minimum of four pieces of content per month promoting the Company's products, maintaining an authentic, positive tone consistent with the Company's brand values.

Clause 5: Exclusivity

5.1 During the Term, the Ambassador shall not endorse, promote, or enter into any paid partnership with any other “free-from” or allergen-focused food brand.

Clause 8: Termination for Reputational Event

8.1 Either party may terminate this Agreement with immediate effect, by written notice, if the other party (or, in the case of the Company, a product supplied by the Company) becomes subject to any event, allegation, or conduct that a reasonable person would consider likely to bring the terminating party into disrepute, or to be materially inconsistent with the purpose of this Agreement.

Clause 9: Non-Disparagement

9.1 Neither party shall make, publish, or authorise any statement (including on social media) that disparages, criticises, or is likely to damage the reputation of the other party, whether during the Term or for a period of 6 months thereafter, save for factual statements made in the course of legitimate regulatory or legal proceedings.

Clause 11: Fees and Termination Payments

11.1 Upon termination under clause 8, the Company shall pay the Ambassador any outstanding fees accrued up to the termination date; no further sums shall be due from either party.

11.2 If the Ambassador terminates this Agreement otherwise than under clause 8, any fees paid in advance for content not yet delivered shall be repayable to the Company on demand.

Document 6: Internal Email Chain

From: Priya Shah, Head of Quality & Compliance, Bramwell & Sons

To: Owen Bramwell, CEO

Date: 7 March 2026, 08:47

Subject: URGENT - Recall follow-up and some things you should know

Owen,

Following on from yesterday's call. To confirm the timeline: the hospital's report reached us on the evening of 1 March, our team flagged a possible link to the new flour blend on 2 March, and SureSource confirmed almond protein was present on 5 March. I know there's a question about why it took until 6 March to notify the FSA - we spent those days trying to confirm the batch numbers so we didn't recall more (or less) than we needed to, but I accept in hindsight we should have escalated to you, and to the FSA, sooner on a precautionary basis.

I also need to flag two things. First, our twice-yearly allergen testing audit of Millstone's flour blends was due in January but didn't happen - we were short-staffed in the quality team over the winter and it slipped. Second, I've now checked Millstone's paperwork and their Allergen Control Certification lapsed on 15 January 2026. Under clause 6.2 of our supply agreement they're required to maintain it, but nobody flagged the lapse to us and we didn't ask to see a current certificate before this happened.

Priya

From: Nadia Osei, Head of Marketing, Bramwell & Sons

To: Owen Bramwell, CEO

CC: Priya Shah

Date: 9 March 2026, 18:30

Subject: Ambassador situation - need to move fast

Owen,

Wanted to flag the ambassador situation before it gets away from us - see the screenshots I've pulled together (Document 3).

Ella's gone quiet and taken down one of her old posts. Given she has a nut allergy herself, I think she's genuinely rattled, not just being difficult - but her Story last night is close to the line under our non-disparagement clause, and I'm worried about what she posts next if we don't get ahead of it. She hasn't formally invoked clause 8 yet, but I'd be surprised if she doesn't.

Jonah's gone the other way and posted this morning defending us - I appreciate the loyalty, but he's told his followers the issue is “already fixed” and the bars are “100% safe,” which isn't something we've actually confirmed yet - SureSource's report isn't due until the 17th. His agreement (same wording as Ella's) has a clause requiring our sign-off before he makes any safety or testing claims, and I don't think we gave that. I've asked him privately to take it down but he hasn't yet.

Can we get some proper legal advice on both of these today?

Nadia

From: Owen Bramwell, CEO

To: Elena Marsh, Partner, TCLA Wiper LLP

CC: Priya Shah; Nadia Osei

Date: 9 March 2026, 20:12

Subject: RE: Ambassador situation - need to move fast

Elena,

Please see the thread below. Two separate things I need your view on, plus everything Priya raised about Millstone earlier in the week.

On Ella - our instinct is to hold her to the contract and the exclusivity/non-disparagement clauses, because losing her publicly right now would be a disaster on top of everything else. But I don't want to end up in a fight with someone who has a genuine allergy and is scared, especially if it turns out she's entitled to walk away anyway.

On Jonah - I'm grateful, but Nadia's right that he's overpromising, and if regulators or journalists pick up on “100% safe” before we've actually confirmed that, it could make things worse, not better. I want to know what our exposure is, and what we should be telling him.

Also - broker's flagged that our insurance renewal is coming up in April and asked whether “any reputational or advertising-related claims” are anticipated. I have no idea how to answer that at this point.

Can you get me something by end of day tomorrow?

Owen

Document 7: Legal Extract – Misleading Advertising & Endorsements

Note: this extract paraphrases the relevant law and advertising rules for the purposes of this exercise and is not a verbatim reproduction of any statute, code, or regulatory guidance.

A commercial practice - including online marketing and paid social media endorsements - is misleading, and therefore prohibited under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, if it contains false information, or is otherwise likely to deceive the average consumer, about matters such as the main characteristics of a product (including its safety), and is likely to cause the consumer to take a different decision than they otherwise would have.

Marketing communications, including social media posts made in exchange for payment, free products, or other benefits, must be clearly identifiable as advertising, and any claims made - particularly about safety, testing, or results - must be capable of objective substantiation at the time they are made; they cannot simply be asserted in good faith if untested.

A business that commissions, authorises, or materially benefits from a misleading endorsement made on its behalf may itself bear responsibility for that practice, alongside the individual who made the statement, and enforcement action can potentially be taken by Trading Standards or the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

BRIEFING & MARK SCHEME