Abstract

The chills of the 2008 economic recession are continuing to leave a clear frosting on the wheels of the UK economy. The situation is further compounded with the uncharted waters of Brexit on a global scale and are also highlighted by the International Monetary Fund’s warning that the “global economy is facing a deep recession with the ongoing impact of COVID-19”. The UK Food Standards Association indicate that the sector suffered an 89% drop in business in April 2020, resulting in 675,000 sector specific job losses. It is also predicted that 23% of businesses may fail, equating to a further 10,000 job losses in 2021.
The statistics on food contamination are equally sobering, as up to 600 million suffer food contamination resulting in 420,000 deaths each year globally. Concerning the UK, it is also estimated that over million people are affected by food contamination costing the economy in excess of £1bn a year. Since 2015, there has been a continuous year on year increase in the number of food incidents in the UK, (FSA, 2018). Such failings can and do tarnish brand identity, lost revenue and ultimately the potential termination of operations.

This paper, addresses the instability of Brexit and the continuing challenges of COVID-19 on UK food manufactures as they endeavour to foster a positive food safety culture and in doing so, reduce the levels of non compliance, product recalls and food contamination.