CEO Update

All the latest news and views from Richard Harrow

Caterforce

On 14 th November I was invited to the bi-annual Caterforce conference held at Celtic Manor. I was really impressed with the whole day, but two points really stood out for me. Firstly, many of the members have really strong investment plans. Secondly, Caterforce members are keen to address the key issues of today. As an example, Lynas Foodservice in Northern Ireland has opened a plastics-free store. It was refreshing to see the independent sector so positive and active.

Cull of pigs in China due to swine flu impacts worldwide market

According to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), China’s herd of pigs accounts for half of the world pig population. However, some 30% of the herd have been destroyed due to swine flu, which in some areas has meant a 70-80% drop in the herd.

China is now importing pig meat from around the world, impacting the price of any product derived from pork. This is likely to be a long-term situation as it may take China anywhere between five and seven years to rebuild its pig herd.

Welcome to Holly Jones

We are pleased to announce that Holly Jones has joined the BFFF as technical assistant working alongside Denise Rion, head of technical.

Holly has a BSc (Hons) degree in Food and Consumer Studies as well as a National Diploma in Food Nutrition, Food Technology and Processing. She also brings with her a solid understanding of the food industry, having held technical positions at Bakkavor, Openfield Agriculture and Vittles Foods. We are therefore in no doubt she will be a valuable asset to both the team and the wider membership.

Labour

The ONS issued an update on net immigration to the year ending June 2019.

We are now at the lowest number of EU workers coming to the UK for 16 years. This will inevitably put more pressure on an already tight labour market. The data shows the UK has seen fewer people arriving from the EU8 (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia) looking for work.

The ONS commented: ‘’While there are still more EU citizens moving to the UK than leaving, EU net migration has fallen since 2016, driven by fewer EU arrivals for work. In contrast, non-EU net migration has gradually increased for the past six years, largely as more non-EU citizens came to study.”

Frozen good news

The frozen industry was recognised with a number of awards in the last few weeks of 2019. Cook was recognised by The Grocer as the Independent Retailer of the Year, while Whitby Seafoods won The Grocer Gluten Free Savoury award for its Gluten Free Scampi. This was against chilled products.

Iceland then won the Pizza, Pasta and Italian Food Association (PAPA) award for Everyday Pizza with its Gino D’Acampo Super Spicy Pizza and Aldi won the innovation category with its Carlos Cheeseburger Stuffed Crust. Again, both products were up against chilled ones.

Additionally, Asda frozen fish buyer Georgia Gilman (right) won The Grocer Own Label Buyer of the Year. It was wonderful to see this young person being recognised for her passion, commitment and energy in working with her supplier base to grow the frozen fish category.

Birds Eye

November was a good month for the Birds Eye team. The transformation of the brand under the leadership of Wayne Hudson was recognised by awards from both The Grocer (Brand of the Year) and IGD (Business Transformation Award). Wayne will be speaking about his success at Pelican Communications' Dawn of a New Ice Age event in Leeds on 5 th February.

Potato crop under pressure

A recent update on the potato crop by the AHDB raised concerns about the effects of the wet weather in November on the potato crop.

The update highlighted key growing areas were way behind on lifting the crop, with the North West having only 67% of the crop lifted and Yorkshire having some 21% of the crop still to be harvested. This comes on the back of the previous year when the crop was impacted by dry weather.

Potatoes for processing, which are harvested late to allow the tubers to bulk up, may be affected disproportionally. There are also fears that when the crop is lifted the remaining moisture may impact quality in storage.

Food waste project

In the UK we throw away around a third of the food we buy, of which 61% (4.1 million tonnes) is avoidable. So, during the last few weeks of 2019, some of the BFFF team took part in a project aimed at highlighting just how much food we waste on a daily basis. It has to be said, the exercise has been a real eye opener and led to more than a few new year’s resolutions around reducing food waste and changing behaviour. Well done to everyone who took part and rose to the challenge which has helped raise awareness of this important issue.