Going Local - A snapshot of the local food sector
Monday 14 April 2003
The Food Standards Agency has taken a leading role in cross-departmental work to investigate what is happening in the local food sector across England.
A cross-departmental Working Group on Local Food was established in summer 2002, which had members from Defra, Department of Health, Countryside Agency and Food Standards Agency, as well as support from a number of other government departments. The Working Group has now submitted its final report for consideration by the Cross-Cutting Group on Regional Food in Defra and is making the report widely available.
The Working Group on Local Food considered the available information relating to the impacts of local food initiatives and the wider issues related to local food to help inform government policy-making. The Working Group has sought to review all the available information and to gather as many views as possible from a wide breadth of stakeholders. It has also made visits to see and listen to the local food sector in all the administrative regions of England. The Working Group would like to thank all those who have made this process possible in a relatively short time.
The report 'Local Food: A Snapshot of the Sector' presents the collation and interpretation of the information collected. The Working Group hopes that you will find this document useful and, perhaps, stimulating.
If you would like to comment on the report itself please contact:
Working Group on Local Food
c/o Elizabeth Stockdale
Room 426b
Aviation House
125 Kingsway
LONDON
WC2B 6NH
elizabeth.stockdale@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
More information about the Working Group on Local Foods can also be found at the Defra website
Next steps for the FSA
The FSA welcomes the Working Group report and considers that it provides some useful information to inform policy-making. The FSA is now considering carefully what action it needs to take in the light of the Working Group's report.
The FSA has worked with the LGA and LACORS to develop a joint vision statement, which is intended to promote good practice and provide inspiration about the many ways in which local authorities can act to help promote access to safe and nutritious food and improve community health and well-being. Work is continuing in this area and the links to the issues raised by the Working Group will be considered.
The FSA is already considering producing guidelines on the use of the term 'local' in food marketing. The Working Group Report will help inform this process.
We expect that other Departments and Agencies will also be considering what action they need to take in the light of the working group's paper.
What does Local Food Mean?
Qualitative research into public attitudes to local food in England carried out for the FSA has shown there was a good deal of consumer interest in local food.
Proximity of production to the consumer and a short chain from producer to consumer are the most important defining factors of local food.
But it was clear from the research that local food is becoming familiar to consumers, but as yet it does not often have a clear meaning for them.
Only a minority of participants in the focus groups had a well-developed understanding of a local food sector, most had piecemeal and fragmentary notions depending on whether and where they have come across local food e.g. farmers' markets, farm shops, supermarkets.
Consumer knowledge of local provision and initiatives is also patchy and generally poor, even amongst consumers who are interested in buying more local food.
The FSA is already considering producing guidelines on the use of the term 'local' in food marketing. This consumer research will help inform this process.
Related links
(pdf 187KB)External links The Food Standards Agency has no responsibility for the content of external websites
See also
(pdf 5KB)
(Word 52KB) (Word 24KB)