Over the past decade, food businesses have created detailed maps of the terrain they wish to 'conquer' and developed operational guides and strategic briefs on how to achieve this. With COVID-19, the maps are really no longer accurate and many of the accompanying operational guides, no longer instructive.

A form of government rationing is now needed, says one of the UK’s leading food supply experts.

Tim Lang, City, University of London

Food security is no laughing matter at the best of times, but I gasped when I first read the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra) annual food civil contingencies infrastructure report in 2018. It is barely a page long (in public at least) and assures us everything is OK and that the food system is resilient and able to withstand shocks. As the coronvirus racks the nation and panic buying continues, this complacency is about to be tested.

We’re increasingly aware of how plastic is polluting our environment. Much recent attention has focused on how microplastics – tiny pieces ranging from 5 millimetres down to 100 nanometres in diameter – are filling the seas and working their way into the creatures that live in them. That means these ocean microplastics are entering the food chain and, ultimately, our bodies.

The Foodservice Network is pleased to announce the first full day Workshop for the creation of a new performance standard for Hot Food Display Cabinets (BSI – PAS). The workshop is being held at The British Standards Institution (BSI), 389 Chiswick High Road London, W4 4AL on the 21^st of July from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm.