Prime Minister Andy Burnham is preparing to pursue closer European ties at the UK-EU summit in Brussels on 20 November, promising lower costs and less paperwork for farmers and food businesses. But Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) chief executive, Nigel Jenney, has repeatedly highlighted a danger that those ambitions must address: additional barriers for essential fresh produce arriving from outside the EU. Farmers Guardian reports that food exports will be at the forefront of

British carrot growers are looking to varieties from hotter climates as they seek to strengthen supply resilience and develop new commercial opportunities in a sector worth £242 million in 2025. More than 70 carrot trial plots at the British Carrot Growers Association’s annual Demonstration Day offered a timely opportunity to compare established and emerging varieties under UK growing conditions. More than 300 growers and industry representatives attended the event near York,

Hundreds of French supermarkets have been affected by a cyberattack targeting refrigeration systems, forcing some stores to discard food and prompting an investigation into spoilage and reported fires. French finance minister Roland Lescure told Parliament on 13 October that around 700 of the country’s 10,000 supermarkets were affected. He said France’s food supplies were not at risk, but described the incident as “a wake-up call for everyone”. Reuters reported that hackers r