Stock up on food to prepare for extreme weather, minister warns

**Minister warns households to stock up on food ahead of extreme weather**

Households should build up food supplies to get ready for extreme weather as the strongest El Niño in a generation forms over the Pacific Ocean, a government minister has warned.

Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle told the Guardian that the powerful natural climate event will bring "more extreme storms in this country".

Her remarks came as the National Audit Office (NAO) warned that Britain’s food supply chain faces risks from rising cyber-attack threats and the climate crisis.

The NAO said the government was overly dependent on the private sector to respond to food supply disruption. The government is expected to publish a strategy on preparing for national emergencies later this year.

Dame Angela said, external: "We're about to experience probably the largest El Niño that has ever been seen, and that will lead to drier summers, wetter winters, with more extreme storms in this country.

"It will do a lot more damage in Asia with flooding, and therefore I think that we need to take it seriously.

"If you've got a store of a bit of food that can keep you going for a while before the emergency services can get to you, you're going to be a lot better off than if you haven't.

"So some of it is that kind of preparation for just being a bit more resilient."

Her comments came as an NAO report warned that Britain’s food supply chain is exposed to outbreaks of plant or human disease, cyber-attacks and extreme weather.

It also pointed to climate change as a longer-term chronic risk that could put Britain’s food supply in danger.

The disruptions could drive up prices and leave vulnerable people unable to afford food, it said.

The NAO said the Department for Food, the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) relied too heavily on private companies to manage disruptions to food supply.

It added that the department had not done enough in recent years to boost supply chain resilience.

The NAO also said UK households are less prepared for emergencies than those in several other countries, including Finland, Sweden and European Union nations.

It said ministers should urge households to prepare for supply chain disruptions and take lessons from other countries’ approaches.

Defra said the report showed food supply risks were becoming more complicated and that the government was working with farmers and industry to strengthen the UK’s resilience.

"While our food businesses and supermarkets have continued to feed the nation through significant disruption, we will carefully consider the report's findings and recommendations as part of our ongoing work to build a more resilient, productive and sustainable food system," a spokesperson said.

In July, the government announced plans to outline the " small but important steps " households can take to prepare for food and water shortages in the event of extreme weather or cyber-attacks.

These will be part of a strategy due by the end of 2026, aimed at bringing the UK closer to European countries in emergency preparedness.

Phil Pluck, chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, which represents firms transporting temperature-controlled foods, said Britain was "pretty close to crisis".

He told the BBC's Wake Up to Money programme that the country was being targeted by Russian cyber-hackers who "know that there are pinch points in the food supply system".

He added that El Niño, along with global shipping disruption and the threat of pandemics, means you cannot "just rely on the private sector coming through every single time".

Asked whether people should be stocking up in case of disruptions, Pluck added: "Yes, we should.

"There should be some sensible stocking in each household. And the government in the autumn will be telling all of us to do that."