The latest update of Marks and Spencers’ ‘Field to Fork’ scheme again brings to the fore one of the most contentious issues of the moment - assurance audits.

There is nothing particularly remarkable about the new M&S standard, except that it mirrors those of other supermarkets in expanding its remit to cover more pesticide reduction and environmental considerations.

The wider picture is that growers are extremely concerned about the sheer volume of requirements they are expected to meet, not to mention the considerable stress that this challenge is placing upon them.

The UK industry rightly prides itself on producing some of the safest food in the world, and no doubt assurance schemes have played a significant part in raising standards.

But some sort of middle ground needs to be found between common sense and the almost laughable checking points that growers report having to comply with.

There must be a balance between safe food production and over-auditing, and only two-way discussions between retailers and suppliers will find out what that is.

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