The BBC’s Great Rubbish Menu last week confirmed my view that the baby has finally been thrown out with the bath water! It is widely understood that food waste issues need to be continually highlighted and addressed. However the sight of celebrity chefs crawling around in paladins for edible produce and feeding it to well-known food critics was frankly bizarre.

FPC has worked closely with WRAP for some time now to provide a balanced approach to all this hype and the reality of food waste in the produce sector, which has vastly improved over the last decade. Of course this kind of information doesn’t make for good TV, but conversely I would suggest that watching a bunch of C-grade celebrities happily munching on scraps left me totally uninspired and certainly didn’t send me racing to the compost heap to forage for edible bits and pieces!

Bradford St James Wholesale Market is a thriving operation with 40 tenants trading side-by-side in a friendly, open multi-cultural environment and is one of the major successes within our industry. The quality and variety of produce in the market is extremely impressive and more importantly, on the seasonal and regional front, it is interesting to note that produce once considered exotic is grown locally by grower/wholesalers who are also market traders. This market is well worth a visit and we have organised, with the kind co-operation of the tenants association, for FPC members to not only walk the market in October, but to view cooking demonstrations of the most diverse and exotic of produce currently available on the stands. Bradford Council is not only supporting this celebration of the city’s finest produce, but is kindly hosting a lunch for those in our party. Join us and enjoy the warmth of northern hospitality - get in touch with angie@freshproduce.org.uk for details and I look forward to seeing you there.

On the ‘high risk’ front - it was good to meet a number of you recently to discuss the concerns and potential impact on your businesses before the policy takes effect in October. Communication and working together is key so that we fully understand the implications and can focus our attention to lobby on your behalf to find a solution.

Look out for details of the FPC Annual Dinner back at the Savoy on 5 February. Morocco is the guest nation and we are planning a spectacular themed evening centred around the culture and culinary excellence of this great nation in the opulent surroundings of the iconic Lancaster Ballroom. This is a truly unique event and we are able to offer the most competitive prices, so don’t miss this great opportunity.

As the summer draws to a close and the schools return for the autumn term we will continue to lobby government to save the School Fruit & Veg Scheme. It works, it’s popular in the education system and its future must be secured.

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