There is a “major blind spot” in UK preparedness for threats impacting food supply, a new report warns.
Despite being an essential link in the food system, the Cold Chain Federation (CCF) says the cold chain’s role in resilience and national security is “almost entirely unrecognised” in government resilience and crisis assessments.
What is the cold chain?
The cold chain is the network of specialist buildings, vehicles, shipping containers and other infrastructure which ensure perishable goods including food are kept in a safe and secure chilled or frozen temperature-controlled environment as they pass from production to the point of usage or consumption.
The UK imports around 50% of its food, meaning international conflicts and supply chain disruption affect the cold chain acutely. Other threats closer to home (e.g. energy prices, cyberattacks and climate change) have also strained the ability of cold chain businesses to maintain a highly functioning cold chain.
Much of the food and drink produced and sold by UK manufacturers is chilled and frozen (around 49%, valued at £50 billion). Alongside staples such as meat and dairy, this also includes products sold ambient or shelf stable.
Therefore, if disruption does happen, a significant share of UK food and drink producers are affected.
A major blind spot in resilience
Despite its critical role in the food system, the cold chain has been largely overlooked by UK Government when it comes to food security.
As the CCF report outlines, it is not considered critical national infrastructure (CNI), nor is it mapped in the UK – meaning many parts of the chain remain invisible. This makes it difficult for planners to identify and prioritise critical food hubs for crisis planning.
Moreover, because the majority of supply chains operate on just-in-time models, any cold chain disruption can quickly lead to shortages.
The infrastructure is also outdated, with more than half of cold stores over 20 years old and not specifically equipped to deal with modern climate extremes – a risk that has been identified by the Committee for Climate Change.
Recent events have already highlighted fragility within the system, with the CCF report flagging several case studies. This includes a major bottleneck exposed during the pandemic, when the UK effectively ran out of available cold storage.
As lockdowns ensued, huge volumes of food that would normally move quickly through foodservice and export channels had to be diverted into frozen storage to avoid waste.
The situation was so acute that the Cabinet Office approached the CCF to help identify available capacity.
This wasn’t a one-off either; several times since, in response to changes in post-Brexit border requirements, the CCF says the UK has come close to running out of long-term cold storage.
What needs to happen now
The CCF report sets out ten “urgent” steps for Government, which includes:
- The designation of cold chain infrastructure as national critical infrastructure
- The assessment of current and future requirements and vulnerabilities
- Recognising cold chain workers with permanent essential worker status
- Assigning clear Cabinet Office responsibility for cold chain resilience and security
- The development of early warning systems that enable rapid intelligence sharing between government bodies and cold chain businesses
- The development of a cold chain Incident Response Plan (IRP) and a Disaster Recovery Plan
- Expansion of storage and distribution infrastructure for stockpiling
- Embedding the cold chain into planning policy
- Mandated industry-government collaboration
- Supporting initiatives to promote critical occupations in the cold chain
“Future Government action to strengthen food security and resilience will rely heavily on the growth and development of the UK’s cold chain infrastructure”, the report finds.
“Without remedying this oversight, government action is destined to fail the UK citizen.”
