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Food Supply

Asked by Dr Neil Shastri-HurstConservativeDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled Answered 23 September 2025UIN 75043

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2025 to Question 69586 on Food Supply, which (a) supermarkets and (b) food producers he has met with to discuss mitigating the risk of shortages to key food supplies in the last 12 months.

Answered by Dame Angela Eagle

Over the last 12 months, the Secretary of State has attended a range of events across the year with both supermarkets and food producers to discuss risks to food security and explore measures to mitigate potential shortages.

Minister of State also chairs a regular session with the food and farming trade bodies which includes British Retail Consortium, Food and Drink Federation, National Farmers' Union, and UK Hospitality - where the issues of food security and resilience are regularly discussed.

In addition, Defra officials continue to engage with stakeholders across the food supply chain to focus on specific challenges. Recent meetings with supermarkets have focused on cyber and energy resilience.

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