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UK food security is in ‘absolute chaos’

The UK’s food security landscape is “absolute chaos”, according to food safety expert Chris Elliott, and the country urgently needs a food security policy to protect consumers and support businesses.

Chris Elliott, professor of food safety and microbiology at Queen’s University Belfast and founder of the Institute for Global Food Security, made the remarks at a recent Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) conference.

At the recent CTSI conference, which took place ahead of the country’s recent general election, Elliott said that the next government needs to prioritise food safety. The professor, who carried out the government-commissioned report on the horse meat scandal in 2013, emphasised the UK’s need for a dedicated Food Minister along with implementing a strong food security policy urgently.

He pointed out that fragmented food regulation and supervision methods present a considerable risk to consumers and companies such as manufacturers and retailers. He also mentioned that the UK’s decision to eliminate the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services (LACoRS) system in 2010, along with extensive reductions in Trading Standards services, has significantly weakened the country's ability to assure consumers that food entering the UK, being marketed in shops and online, and reaching consumers’ tables is accurately labelled and safe to eat.

“I think the cutbacks in the Trading Standards workforce are the first problem; those people are really at the coalface and understand the problems that are going on,” Elliott said. “That, and the disjointed nature of food monitoring surveillance governance in the UK, is scandalous, to be honest.”

Understanding global impact

“Food security, standards and sustainability are interconnected,” said Louise Hosking, Executive Director at the Chartered Institute for Environmental Health (CIEH). “The vastly evolving UK landscape from Covid-19 to climate change has created new emerging risks that have created fragility within the food system,” Hosking added.

The wider geopolitical environment is having a negative impact on food security in the UK, the CTSI reports. Brexit has led to regulatory differences, the war in Ukraine has disrupted global supply chains and the climate crisis is affecting businesses.

“There are also massive challenges out there because of our changing climate,” said Elliott. The professor added that these lead to “some bad behaviours” even among reputable food companies. “The overuse of pesticides and illegal pesticides, for example, is on the rise because producers are trying to deal with climate crisis situations and crop failures.”

CTSI advocating for review of food regulations

Jessica Merryfield, head of policy and campaigns at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) told Ingredients Network it was advocating for a review of food regulation and updates to provide clear, effective legal definitions of ‘pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS)’ and terms such as ‘vegan’, which are currently not legally defined.

The growing popularity of online food retail has also made the food sector more challenging and riskier for companies and consumers. “We also need clearer regulations, responsibilities and powers surrounding online food sales to tackle the volume of food fraud and unsafe food being sold in this space,” said Merryfield.

To do this, the CTSI calls for officers on the ground to check and enforce the laws and ring-fence investment in local Trading Standards services throughout the UK to ensure these checks occur.

CIEH has published its 2024 manifesto outlining the need for the UK government to strategically deliver the National Food Strategy. Its mandate is to ensure that all food-related policies work together to provide health and environmental benefits. Environmental health professionals have an important role in this, working to ensure that the UK has a stable and safe food supply at every stage, from food handling to preparation and delivery.

“This activity at a local level should be supported and be supporting a coordinated, joined-up national approach to food surveillance and monitoring,” said Merryfield. “A holistic and clear approach, nationally, to food regulation and policy should be in place across the whole food supply chain.”

According to the UK Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Households Below Average Income survey, 4.7 million people in the UK were living in food-insecure households in 2021/22, which amounts to 7% of the entire country. A total of 11 million people were living in relative poverty, 15% of whom were in food-insecure households, including more than a fifth (21%) of children.