Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum

Note that due to COVID-19 restrictions this conference will be conducted online.

The format will mirror physical conferences organised by the Forum with speakers presenting via webcam, accompanied by slides if they wish. 

The conference will be chaired and there will be opportunities for delegate questions and comments.

We will be contacting all participants in advance of the conference with full information and guidance on how to take part.

This conference is bringing together stakeholders from across the food sector with policymakers to examine the future of the UK food supply chain.

Areas for discussion include:

• Fairness and the future of regulation in the grocery supply chain;
• Supply chain practices and supporting small stakeholders;
• Progress towards net-zero emissions, and the impact on the sector; and
• Trading relationships and the evolving role of UK regulators.

The seminar takes place with:

• the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs highlighting the need to improve transparency and support greater fairness in a complex supply chain as a key part of the Agriculture Bill, which is currently progressing through Parliament; and
• the Prime Minister confirming that the UK would reject any regulatory alignment in future trade talks with the EU.

Speakers

We are pleased to include keynote contributions from:

• Christine Tacon, Groceries Code Adjudicator;
• Rebecca Sudworth, Director of Policy, Food Standards Agency; and
• Anthea McIntyre, Former MEP; Shadow Rapporteur, Unfair Trading Practices in the Food Supply Chain and Member, Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.

Further speakers include: Professor David Barling, University of Hertfordshire; Jessica Burt, Mills & Reeve; Sue Davies, Which?; James Elliott, Green Alliance; Dr Liz Goodwin, World Resources Institute and London Waste; Dr Anna Macready, University of Reading; Duncan Swift, Moore UK; and Katrina Walsh, The International Meat Trade Association

Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Member, House of Lords European Union Select Committee and Jessica Burt, Associate, Food Law, Mills & Reeve have kindly agreed to chair this seminar.

Engagement with policy officials at this conference

This Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum conference has attracted particularly strong interest from policymakers. It will be an opportunity for stakeholders to engage with officials who have reserved places from: Defra; BEIS; the Committee on Climate Change; the Department for International Trade; DFID; DHSC; the Food Standards Agency; the Crown Commercial Services; HM Revenue & Customs; Food Standards Scotland; DAERA Northern Ireland; The Scottish Government and the Welsh Government.

The agenda

• Progress on ensuring fairness in the grocery supply chain;
• Key stakeholder issues for supply chain regulation - regulation, climate change, and fair trading:
  
  • Prioritising consumer protection, meeting consumer demand, and the future regulation of the grocery retail sector;
  • Incentivising UK agriculture, supporting the path to net-zero emissions, and creating a consistent regulatory framework;
  • The future food regulatory framework and supply chain consistency as the UK moves away from regulatory alignment; and
  • Identifying supply chain risks, enabling flexible supply chain systems, and opportunities for innovation.
• Opportunities and challenges for the supply chain from future trading relationships;
• Priorities for meeting 2050 net-zero emissions targets, ensuring a just transition, and reducing waste across the supply chain;
• The European regulatory context - fair trading practice in the EU and globally; and
• The evolving role of UK regulators,

The policy context

• Provisions in the Agriculture Bill and the EU Directive on Unfair Trading Practices aimed at promoting fair dealing across the food supply chain;
• The Grocery Code Adjudicator’s response to the statutory review assessing GCA performance and the ongoing 2020 Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) Survey;
• Targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050 across the UK;
• The launch of UK-hosted UN climate conference COP26 by the PM;
• The Committee on Climate Change 2019 Progress Report - calling for more to be done across the UK to prepare for climate change;
• The CCC’s Land use: Policies for a Net Zero UK report advising agricultural and land use policies for delivering the 2050 net-zero emissions targets;
• The unveiling of the UK Government’s ‘Points-Based’ Post-Brexit Immigration System - whereby visas are awarded based on those with specific skills, qualifications, or professions, in a bid to attract the highest talent to the UK and to end the reliance on ‘cheap labour’; and
• The expansion of the Seasonal Workers Pilot to boost the agricultural workforce.

This conference focuses on the regulatory landscape and market prospects for new and emerging novel foods.

Areas for discussion include:

• The regulation of foods that are emerging or newly classified as novel foods - as well as latest developments;
• The role of novel food methods in producing sustainable food and next steps for addressing food system challenges;
• The regulatory response to new product developments in food, nutrition, and health - including the impact of Brexit; and
• Priorities for driving forward innovation and research looking at the potential of novel foods in meeting demand for increased production of healthy food.

It comes with:

• An independent review being carried out for Defra as part of the development of a National Food Strategy looking at challenges such as food security and utilising technology;
• Proposals in the European Parliament for plant-based products to be banned from using meat designations;
• Insect food products receiving novel food status and requiring approval from January 2020; and
• The Food Standards Agency’s recent confirmation that cannabinoids (CBD) foods in the UK will need pre-market authorisation and companies will have to follow novel food processes following the European Commission’s update earlier this year to classify products including CBD as novel, as a history of consumption cannot be demonstrated.

Speakers

There will be keynote contributions from:

• Professor Peter Gregory, Chair, Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes;
• Ruth Willis, Regulated Products Risk Assessment Team Leader, Food Standards Agency; and
• Kathryn Miller, Innovation Lead, Food and Nutrition, Innovate UK.

Further speakers include: Sam Jennings, Institute of Food Science and Technology; Professor Huw Jones, Aberystwyth University; and Sharon Morey, Campden BRI - as well as Sian Edmunds, Burges Salmon; Mike Harlington, Cannabis Trades Association; Dr Nick Rousseau, Woven Network.

The agenda

• Emerging trends in novel foods;
• The potential for novel foods - priorities for research and innovation;
• Managing the introduction of new and emerging novel foods - food safety, the use of descriptors, and developing a regulatory framework;
• The role of novel food methods in producing sustainable food and addressing wider food system challenges;
• Novel food regulation post-Brexit - convergence, opportunities, and priorities:
  
  • The evolving European regulatory landscape;
  • Opportunities for novel foods from biotechnology;
  • Food sector innovation, safety assurance and market access; and
  • Nutritional health claims in novel foods - latest developments.
• Next steps for novel food regulation in the UK.

Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum conferences typically attract strong interest from policymakers. This seminar will be an opportunity for stakeholders to engage with officials from BEIS; CCC; Defra; DFID; DHSC; DIT; Food Standards Agency and the Welsh Government.