big interview
“The UK bakery sector is built on passion and commitment, highlighted by the number of people with long bakery industry careers”
we gain from our work with government bodies and key stakeholders, including Public Health England, DHSC, Defra, FSA and FSS, WRAP and the HSE, on issues and policies impacting the industry.
The other powerful impression I’ve gained is that the UK bakery sector is built on passion and commitment, highlighted by the number of people with long bakery industry careers. You can see the same commitment in our members’ strong relationships with the supply chain, from ingredient suppliers to baking equipment providers, many of whom are associate members of the Federation.
What challenges is the industry facing at present, and how is the FoB best-placed to help? Our members face pressure from all quarters – rising costs of commodities and ingredients, fuel, transport and labour, and shortages of some ingredients. The Federation delivers
bakeryproduction.co.uk
value for our members and associate members, supporting them on the key issues the industry is facing. We are the voice of the industry, with members collaborating so we can act as one and influence policy on issues that concern us, like the bread and flour regulations, food labelling, sustainability and other areas where our Technical Panel brings its expertise to bear. When it comes to even more pressing concerns like the impact of COVID and the Ukraine war, our role includes ensuring government is aware of our challenges and supports us as an essential industry. My predecessor, Gordon Polson, wrote at the end of March to the Rt Hon George Eustice MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, calling for action on the problems facing UK bakery businesses due to rising energy prices and uncertainty over raw materials supplies.
As Gordon wrote in his letter, there was no intention to scaremonger and I don’t intend to scaremonger now, but we do need to make it clear that the baking industry has not experienced in a generation, indeed if ever before, the cost increases and uncertainty we are facing now, and are likely to continue to face over the next few months. Our request remains this, for government to acknowledge these challenges, and start planning for disruption and consider mitigating factors. In the process, we believe some subsidies of bakeries’ energy costs are likely to be essential. As Gordon put it, historically there was a government bread subsidy in the 1970s, but the situation we face today is conceivably much more severe.
Kennedy’s Bakery Production October/November 2022 7
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