The Federation of Bakers focussed its recent annual conference on the challenges facing the food industry. 

The event hosted a variety of speakers in Birmingham, who discussed the issues which will affect the industry long-term. These included Mark Pettigrew, agricultural sustainability manager for Europe at PepsiCo International, and Giles Quick, director at Kantar Worldpanel.

A session on climate change looked at the implications of climate change on food production while the Market Update session included a discussion on the possible impact of Brexit. Meanwhile, a presentation on consumer trends and the health agenda suggested that consumer habits were hard to change and that the industry should therefore focus its efforts on innovation and reformulation.

Gordon Polson, director at the Federation of Bakers, said: “The annual conference is the time of year when the baking industry comes together, so that as a collective we can discuss the current and future issues affecting our industry.”

In February, the Federation of Bakers welcomed AAK, the UK arm of Swedish fats and oil ingredients manufacturer, as a new member.