Lead

Ministers have been accused of being complacent about the risks to vital supplies of food into the UK amid concerns over fuel shortages, cyber attacks and extreme weather. The trade body for cold storage and logistics has urged the government to make potential disruption to the UK’s food system an “immediate national priority”.

Phil Pluck, the chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation (CCF), which represents businesses involved in supplying and transporting temperature-sensitive food and pharmaceuticals, said: “The potential for a major food crisis is as great now as it ever was. We are at the mercy of so many different factors now, which are becoming increasingly dangerous to food supply in this country.”

Coverage Comparison

The Guardian reported the story through two separate articles. One focused on the immediate risks and the call from the Cold Chain Federation, while the other took a broader view, warning that Britain is “sleepwalking into a food crisis” caused by extreme weather, inflation, and the impacts of the Iran war. Both pieces cite warnings from food experts and industry bodies, and both emphasise that the government is not taking the threat seriously enough. The first article quotes a government spokesperson saying the food sector is a critical national infrastructure sector, while the second highlights a letter from nine food experts calling for an updated national food strategy.

Key Claims

  • Ministers have been accused of being complacent about the risks to food supplies, with concerns including fuel shortages, cyber attacks, and extreme weather.
  • Britain relies on overseas imports for over a third of its food, with most entering through four ports, making supplies particularly vulnerable to interruption.
  • The Cold Chain Federation has called on the government to treat potential disruption to the UK’s food system as an “immediate national priority”.
  • International conflicts or hold-ups at the UK border could stop food flowing into the country, while fuel shortages or the failure of cold-storage sites due to flooding or extreme heat could cause gaps on supermarket shelves.
  • The continued closure of the strait of Hormuz has interrupted global flows of fertiliser, necessary for half the world’s food production, raising fears over shortages.
  • A group of food experts, including Mike Barry, Anna Taylor, and Lee Stiles, wrote to ministers calling for the national food strategy to be updated to account for the risks of higher temperatures and more severe weather. They highlighted three priorities: resilient domestic production of healthier food, greater preparedness for supply chain shocks, and access for all to safe, affordable and healthy food.
  • Tim Lang, a professor emeritus of food policy at City St George’s, University of London, said the government’s current strategy amounted to little more than “business as usual” and that warnings were not being heeded.
  • Economic losses from the current heatwave and drought are likely to be measured in the hundreds of millions of pounds, with farmers facing severe strain and livestock suffering heat stress.
  • Food prices were already expected to be 50% higher this November than five years ago, and current weather is adding to inflationary pressure.
  • Even if the Iran war is resolved soon, fuel and fertiliser prices will stay high until the supply crunch through the strait of Hormuz can be eased.
  • The Climate Change Committee advised the government not to allow domestic food production to drop below 60% of the UK’s food needs.
A government spokesperson said the food sector is a critical national infrastructure sector. The article also notes that Britain’s food system has not been significantly tested since the second world war, a time when about half of the nation’s cold stores were in public ownership, according to Tom Southall, the deputy chief executive at the CCF, who said this “alludes to an element of complacency about how and where we store our food in the UK.”