The Chilled Food Association (CFA) is celebrating its 20th anniversary following two decades of pioneering schemes and international debate.

Following a number of food safety incidents in the 1980s, the CFA was launched in the summer of 1989 to represent the chilled food industry and establish standards of excellence.

Since its formation, the CFA has grown from 11 founding members with a combined turnover of around £100 million to 24 members and a turnover of around £2,500m. It represents many of the leading names in UK chilled food production supplying the retail trade and includes large multi-nationals and smaller businesses producing a wide variety of chilled products.

The key CFA membership criterion is adherence to CFA’s Best Practice Guidelines for the Production of Chilled Foods and other CFA guidelines, together with successful independent audits (either BRC or IFS) and other corroboration of technical competence.

Among the bodies’ achievements are its work with DEFRA on its Sustainable Farming and Food Research Priorities Group, its numerous publications aiding its members with guidelines and its recent work on the Waste & Resources Action Plan.

Kaarin Goodburn, CFA’s secretary general, said: “CFA has come a long way in the past 20 years and has much to celebrate. It has been highly successful in lobbying UK, EU and international authorities to secure appropriate risk-based regulation and policies, equitable enforcement and a wider uptake and recognition of best practice. There is still much work to be done and we look forward to the challenges ahead.”

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