Food & Agri Weekly Update 9 Dec

Food Supply Chain and Food Security

The NFU held an emergency press conference on 6 December on the countries’ food security.   NFU President Minette Batters urged the UK government to set a target for the nation’s food security, with a statutory duty to report on domestic food levels.

NFU priority points:

• Defra to investigate whether an “exceptional market conditions” declaration should be made under the Agriculture Act 2020, given the severe disruption which egg producers and UK consumers are experiencing.  These powers allow the Secretary of State to declare a period of exceptional market conditions and to give financial assistance to support farmers who have been affected. They also would enable the Secretary of State to use the additional public intervention and private storage aid powers in retained EU legislation.
• In early 2021 the government had stated it would regulate dairy contracts to ensure fairer terms – no action taken to date.
• Cap on seasonal worker scheme needs to be lifted for the fruit and veg industry
• British food and farming needs to be a political priority. In particular:  establishing a new food security target, including a statutory duty to monitor and report on domestic food production levels annually, to hold a UK-wide annual food security summit and introduce a new target for public sector organisations to buy 50% of their food locally.
• Agriculture and horticulture must be seen as a vulnerable sector in regard to energy security.

FSA Board Meeting 7 December

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) board meeting looked at plans going forward. The work plan for 2022-23 financial year has been amended to reflect involvement in the Genetic Technology Bill and the Retained EU Law Bill, which requires the FSA to review about 150 pieces of legislation by 2023.  The FSA expects to advise ministers to preserve or extend the date up to 2026 for the majority of retained EU law. It has not yet identified any pieces of regulation that should be removed entirely.

A focus will be kept on reducing foodborne diseases and food fraud will continue. But an update to an assessment of food crime has been put back from 2023 to at least spring 2024.

Slower work in a range of areas
A project to directly employ some Official Veterinarians (OVs) to do official controls in abattoirs has been put on hold.

Planned reviews on food safety guidance for businesses such as food handlers’ fitness to work, vacuum packing and Clostridium botulinum and pet food production in approved establishments have been suspended.

Work on Precautionary Allergen Labelling (PAL) will now take longer and food hypersensitivity reform has been impacted as have plans to look at health and sustainability.

World Soil Day 5 December

World Soil Day highlights the importance of soil health for both productive farming and a healthy environment.  World Soil Day marks importance of healthy farmed environment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Throughout the year, farmers and land managers can reference Catchment Sensitive Farming Catchment Sensitive Farming: advice for farmers and land managers - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), which provides advice on how to improve soil health, make better use of farm resources and help protect the environment.

ASA Ruling – Marketing puffery remains no defence to regulatory restrictions also positioning of text will increase the emphasis provided to it

Brewdog 7 December 2022 BrewDog plc - ASA | CAP

A marketing email for a pub chain Brewdog  misleadingly implied that alcoholic beverages counted towards one of the five recommended daily portions of fruit and vegetables.

A marketing email featured the subject heading “One of your five a day”.

BrewDog plc acknowledged that the advertised beers did not count towards a consumer’s ‘five a day’. However, they argued the subject heading was neither intended to be, nor likely to be, interpreted as a factual claim about the beers featured in the body of the email.

Brewdog highlighted that the email was only sent to existing Brewdog customers who were likely to be aware of BrewDog’s playful marketing style, and, recognise “One of your five a day” as a tongue-in-cheek remark. They also highlighted that fruity flavours, as well as fruit-inspired product names and ad copy, were common across the craft beer industry.

The ASA acknowledged that the subject heading “One of your five a day” might be interpreted by some consumers as a humorous nod to the fruit flavoured beers featured in the body of the email. However, because the claim referred to well-known government advice on health and wellbeing, the ASA considered that, in general, consumers would not expect advertisers to include such claims unless the advertised product was recognised as meeting the requirements of that advice. Further, the claim appeared in the email’s subject heading, which the ASA considered positioned it as a key element of the ad’s message.

The ASA further considered that, in general, consumers would be uncertain as to whether an alcoholic beverage with fruit content counted as a portion of fruit under the government’s ‘5 A Day’ advice, or whether some of the nutritional benefits of a ‘5 A Day’ portion would be retained.   Because alcoholic drinks did not count towards a person's ‘5 A day’, the ASA concluded that the claim was misleading.

Slurry Infrastructure Grant open for applications

On 6th November, Defra opened the applications for the Slurry Infrastructure grant, with farmers in England able to apply for grants of £25,000 - £250,000 towards the cost of slurry stores, covers and supporting equipment, to improve their slurry storage.

Scheme guidance available here About the Slurry Infrastructure grant, who can apply and what it can pay for - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The online checker will verify who is eligible for a grant and how much.  It is important to be as accurate as you can about your slurry storage needs and project plans. Once the online checker closes, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will look at how many projects can be funded. 

A recording of a webinar to find out more  is available on the Future Farming (blog.gov.uk). If you aren’t ready to apply for a grant there will be more opportunities to apply.