In April, CFA’s Karin Goodburn gave evidence to the UK Trade and Business Commission on the impact of Brexit on a variety of business sectors. Karin, who established and chairs the SPS (Sanitary & Phytosanitary) Certification Working Group (comprising more than 25 trade and professional organisations throughout the food chain, EHOs and Official Vets), outlined the problems faced when exporting to the EU or moving food to Northern Ireland – including the reams of time-consuming complex paperwork (see CFA News 55). Her quote: “We’re dealing with archaic paperwork, Byzantine process and Kafkaesque differences of interpretation.” was widely repeated in the […]

In the run up to COP26, CFA is pleased to report a positive sustainability picture for its members, who represent many of the largest chilled food producers in this £13bn industry. Data from CFA members reveals a 10.7 percent reduction in carbon dioxide between 2008 and 2020 in spite of an almost threefold increase in production. CFA believes that this is a credible achievement given that the easier to achieve savings were made during 2000-2010. Additionally, CFA members continue to not send food waste to landfill. Food redistribution continues to contribute to this positive outcome with over 7.5 million meals […]

Increasing demands on land space is leading to significant interest in the potential for new ways to farm certain types of fresh produce. One new method currently attracting attention is Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). By enclosing a growing crop in a structure, CEA provides protection by reducing exposure to the outdoor environment. This approach can vary – from keeping the crop in simple greenhouses to fully enclosed ‘vertical farms’. These new approaches to farming are the subject of a new CFA position paper. The paper looks at the positives of the method which can include a longer growing season, less […]