Frozen food industry’s ‘ingenuity’ helping in tough economic times

Speaking at the BFFF's annual luncheon held at the London Hilton Hotel, Shaw cited growth of frozen food sales as an indicator of the industry's health. But he warned about the increasing legislative burden that threatens the sector. He said that while analysts might say that the growth of frozen isn't very exciting, the retail side of the market was well above the £5 billion sales mark. "The first £4 billion has taken oven 50 years to achieve with the last billon being added in just five or six years. "Compound growth of 2.9% during some of the most difficult trading conditions that most of us have ever known is something to be applauded." Turning to the legislative landscape, he urged government departments to keep up the fight for sensible and practical solutions for the UK food industry while protecting consumer interests. It was encouraging that the coalition government was keen to reduce the amount of regulation that industry was burdened with but unfortunately much legislation was generated from Brussels. He added that in recent years, the UK had often been a single voice out of 27 when debating regulations, most recently during the information bill on the inclusion of 'date of freezing' for certain product sectors. He acknowledged there was evident consumer confusion around 'use by', 'sell by' and 'best before' dates and asked whether there was anything to be gained by including a 'first freezing' date. "The frozen food industry stands ready, willing and able to help government in this complex area." He concluded by praising the BFFF's promotion activities and congratulated it on the success of its inaugural Business Conference and the strong line-up of events planned for 2012.