Fears of energy blackouts posing threat to meat and milk supplies
Supplies of milk and meat could be endangered if the country is forced to deal with blackouts later this year, industry chiefs have warned.
According to a report in The Telegraph newspaper, power outages would inhibit food producers including those in the dairy industry.
Some industries will not be able to prevent or stagger certain operational processes to stick to timetables for power use.
“It all depends on the nature of the blackouts but some rely on 24-hour production and can’t just stop and start the process,” the newspaper quoted Ian Wright, co-chair of the Food and Drink Sector Council, as saying.
“Milking cows, for example, is a continuous process. There is a risk that the cows become overburdened,” he explained.
The department for environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) stressed that it did not anticipate any blackouts this winter, despite planning for a worst case scenario of this occurring.
“The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response, and we engage extensively with stakeholders across the whole food supply chain to ensure we are ready for all eventualities, even the ones we don’t expect to happen,” a government spokesperson said.
Nonetheless, worst case scenario planning by officials includes scheduled blackouts for companies and domestic use, it has been reported.