Industry welcomes Gordon’s food task force
Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s plans to create a Food Strategy Task Force to co-ordinate and drive forward new UK food policy recommendations have been broadly welcomed by the industry.
Commenting on the Food Matters - Towards a Strategy for the 21st Century report, published by the Cabinet Office’s Strategy Unit today, Food and Drink Federation communications director Julian Hunt applauded the government’s recognition of the need for a stronger and more integrated approach to its food policy.
“Clearly this report is as complex as the issues that it has addressed, so we are still digesting the detail,” said Hunt. “But some practical and very pragmatic ideas are coming through and we look forward to working with the government and the Strategy Unit, Food Standards Agency (FSA) and other government departments to flesh out the bones of this strategy.”The report calls for greater co-ordination between various government departments and industry in achieving essential improvements to the nation’s nutritional health; creating an environmentally sustainable supply chain; and raising food safety. At the same time, it recognises the need to maintain a competitive domestic food chain at a time when demand for food is growing globally and raw material prices are soaring.
As part of the government’s strategy, the FSA will expand its current role to “provide a one-stop-shop” for consumers looking for information and advice on nutrition, food and sustainability, and food safety. Hunt expressed some concerns, however, about whether the FSA would have sufficient extra financial resources to carry out its expanded role.
The government plans to work with retailers and manufacturers to ensure that barriers to achieving the ‘5-a-day’ target for fruit and vegetable consumption - which it claims would help to avoid 42,000 premature deaths - are addressed.
In particular, it said issues related to accessibility, product placement and the range of products that can count as a portion of fruit and vegetables, would be examined. Within the public catering sector, a ‘Healthier Food Mark’ is planned to show where healthier, more sustainable food is available.
The government also plans to work with the industry to develop a ‘whole food chain approach’ for identifying the most important and high-risk food safety hazards in the food supply chain.
It advised against an “isolationist attitude” to national food security and announced plans to commission a major new project to examine future global food systems. It will also commission an analysis of how the EU’s regulations concerning genetically modified (GM) material are interacting with global trends in animal feed production and assess any potential impacts on UK livestock farming. It said it would continue to lobby for the EU to reach quicker decisions on GM products.
