Recent summers’ massive fluctuations in temperatures and rainfall, both in the UK and further afield, have underlined the importance of CFA’s new ‘Adverse Weather Protocol Guidance’. The FREE document, which was trialled in summer 2023 by CFA Members, addresses issues posed by adverse weather events which are increasing in frequency. Such weather can disrupt supply of fresh produce, affecting its availability, supply and quality, and increasing the risk of microbial contamination. Both informative and practical, the guidance outlines procedures that can be followed, such as growers setting critical limits to trigger documented actions in response to adverse weather events. Monitoring […]

Each year CFA members redistribute millions of food items, including chilled ready meals, sandwiches, desserts, pies and soups. In 2022 nine million meals went to those in need through partners such as Company Shop and FareShare. This means a total of almost 38.5 million meals have been redistributed by CFA members since 2017. Dr Rachel Hackett, Chair of CFA’s Sustainable Development Working Group explains: “Our members are proud of the fact that for we continue to send no food waste to landfill, instead redistributing wherever possible. It is just one of a range of initiatives we have to reduce our […]

CFA’s highly regarded guidance documents remain central to its work and the industry is already welcoming the latest of these: ‘Principles of an Environmental Monitoring Program for the Management of Listeria monocytogenes’. This guidance is part of a package of work led by CFA in preparation for potential changes to EU legislated Listeria monocytogenes criteria (CFA News #59). That work has now largely been published at www.chilledfood.org/listeria. The guidance sets out effective environmental hygiene management using monitoring and preventative and corrective actions and how to interpret this data and relate it to other results from raw materials, components and product. […]