UK Food Supply Chain Resilience

The National Audit Office (NAO) is publishing a major new report examining whether the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), working with key public and private organisations, is taking effective action to ensure the food supply chain is resilient to disruptions such as extreme weather events, cyber-attacks and disease outbreaks. With temperature-controlled storage and distribution integral to the movement of food across the UK, the report will be particularly relevant to the cold chain.

It looks at:

• The key risks affecting the food supply chain and how Defra and industry have responded to recent disruptions
• Defra’s understanding of risks to the food supply chain and its actions to improve resilience
• Defra’s preparedness for catastrophic disruption to the food supply chain

On the day of publication, the Cold Chain Federation will host a special edition Cold Chain Insight webinar, with Rich Sullivan-Jones, Director of the NAO’s Value for Money audits on Defra, and Helen Roberts, Senior Audit Manager specialising in the NAO’s Value for Money audits on Defra, joining us as guests to present the report’s key findings and recommendations.

The Cold Chain Federation will then lead a discussion focused on the cold chain, exploring its role in food supply resilience, how temperature-controlled storage and distribution feature within the report, and the potential implications for the sector.

There will also be the chance to put questions to the NAO team.