FDF calls on next government to support UK food and drink

The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) is calling on the next government to support the industry in its manifesto.

Within the document are five key policies that the organisation say the next administration must implement to ensure the UK’s food and drink manufacturing industry continues to thrive. Among these are to prioritise the closest possible UK-EU trade and regulatory relationship, support efforts to make food production and consumption more environmentally sustainable and help tackle climate change.

Other points include driving productivity with the Food and Drink Sector Council, work with industry to develop home-grown talent and boost skills to equip the industry for its future and to tackle obesity and other dietary concerns through an holistic, evidence-based partnership.

The industry employs over 450,000 people across the UK and is worth more than £31 billion.

FDF chief executive Ian Wright CBE said, “We know the next Government – of whatever political hue – will want to tackle issues like obesity and plastic packaging. To do that successfully, it will need to work effectively with the industry and the FDF.

“The food and drink manufacturing industry touches every person, every community and every constituency in the country. It’s the UK’s largest manufacturing industry. Its success is integral to the country’s wider economic prosperity, with an impact far beyond London and the South East.

“Strategic partnerships with government, including the Food and Drink Sector Council, have been long overdue but are finally delivering. The next administration must seize upon this once-in-a-generation opportunity to develop these relationships and build the food and drink industry our people demand and deserve.”