Media Coverage

In The News

National and trade press coverage of the Action Pack and the UK-EU Reset, alongside Freshtalk Daily's own reporting on why Rest of World fresh produce imports matter to Britain's food security, prices and supply.

Press Coverage

Farmers Weekly7 August 2026 · Anne Dunn

Fresh produce sector launches food security campaign

"The Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) has launched a new campaign urging farmers, businesses and the public to press MPs to strengthen the UK's food security... The UK-EU Reset Action Pack encourages supporters to call for improvements to post-Brexit trading arrangements to reduce border delays and compliance costs affecting imported fresh produce." Quotes Nigel Jenney: "When nine out of ten of the people running our food system say the risks are rising, and every one of them says government hasn't kept up, that's not a warning, it's a verdict."

Read on Farmers Weekly →
Grocery Gazette11 June 2026 · Kieran Howells

Fresh Produce Consortium warns UK–EU SPS deal could add £300m in fresh produce costs

"This is not simplification. It is a transfer of burden. And the industry's effective solutions and repeated warnings are being ignored," FPC chief executive Nigel Jenney told Grocery Gazette, warning that new EU-style controls on Rest of World supply chains — which already have a 99.5% compliance record — could mean up to 120,000 consignments a year facing potential physical inspection.

Read on Grocery Gazette →

Freshtalk Daily

Freshtalk Daily 5 August 2026 Sarah-Jayne Gratton

Heat, Harvests and Hard Choices: Why Britain's Food Security Must Be Both Home-Grown and Global

British berry growers are proving that home-grown production can withstand a changing climate — but FPC warns that resilience alone can't secure the sector's future. Around half of the fresh produce the UK imports comes from countries outside the EU, supplying citrus, mangoes, blueberries and more that can't be grown domestically in sufficient quantities.

"This is a transfer of burden, not a simplification — and it is British shoppers who would pay." — Nigel Jenney, Chief Executive, Fresh Produce Consortium
Read on Freshtalk Daily →
Freshtalk Daily 29 July 2026 Sarah-Jayne Gratton

"One Squeeze Too Far": FPC And Delifresh Call On Britain's Chefs To Sign The UK-EU Reset Petition

FPC has joined forces with Delifresh to urge chefs and foodservice operators to reject a border plan that would add EU-style SPS charges to Rest of World fresh produce — the same produce that makes up roughly half of everything Britain imports from beyond Europe.

"Chefs don't often get asked for their view on trade policy, but this is exactly the moment they should be heard." — Nigel Jenney, Chief Executive, Fresh Produce Consortium
Read on Freshtalk Daily →
Freshtalk Daily 27 July 2026 Sarah-Jayne Gratton

Europe's Fruit And Veg Prices Are A Policy Failure — Britain, Take Note

A new UN report found the EU's own farm subsidy system has driven up fruit and veg prices. FPC says the finding lands at exactly the wrong moment for the UK-EU Reset, which would layer EU-style border checks onto safe, Rest of World produce.

"Copying EU-style border friction onto safe, Rest of World (RoW) produce would do to UK shoppers exactly what this report warns against — it would tax healthy eating through the back door." — Nigel Jenney, Chief Executive, Fresh Produce Consortium
Read on Freshtalk Daily →
Freshtalk Daily 22 July 2026 Sarah-Jayne Gratton

Burnham's Food Affordability Crisis: Industry Warns of a "Self-Inflicted" £300 Million Hit to Britain's Shopping Baskets

FPC has written to the Prime Minister urging him to scrap a plan that would impose EU-style border controls on Rest of World fresh produce — food grown outside the EU that makes up around half of all UK fresh produce imports.

"Nothing has changed in the science. What has changed is the politics. This is a transfer of burden, not a simplification — and it is British shoppers who would pay." — Nigel Jenney, Chief Executive, Fresh Produce Consortium
Read on Freshtalk Daily →

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