LONDON — The Cold Chain Federation has urged the U.K. government to designate potential disruption to the food system as an immediate national priority. The organization also called for permanent essential-worker status for staff involved in cold-storage and transport.
Cold chain companies in the U.K. have experienced frequent attempted cyber-attacks in recent months. Phil Pluck, chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, said, "We are recognised as critical national infrastructure by Russian cybercriminals, not by the U.K. government."
The federation published a white paper proposing that the Cabinet Office assume overall responsibility for cold-chain resilience and security. Pluck said, "The potential for a major food crisis is as great now as it ever was. We are at the mercy of so many different factors now, which are becoming increasingly dangerous to food supply in this country."
Tom Southall, deputy chief executive of the federation, noted the last test of the food system. Southall said, "Britain’s food system has not been significantly tested since the second world war, a time when about half of the nation’s cold stores were in public ownership."
The U.K. imports more than one-third of its food, with most imports entering through four ports. Approximately 460 cold-storage sites and 100,000 lorries are used to transport temperature-controlled products to retailers, hospitality venues, schools, hospitals, and care homes. A government spokesperson said, "The food sector is one of the U.K.’s 13 critical national infrastructure sectors, and the cold chain is important to food supply to increase adaptability to disruptions that can occur." The spokesperson added, "We have committed to maintaining domestic food production; we are investing billions in the development of new technology to increase yields, develop climate-resilient crops and help farmers produce more food."