The C19 pandemic and the resulting nationwide lockdown have caused major disruption to our industry.
As designated key workers everyone in the flour milling industry has responded superbly to the challenges of meeting increased demand and keeping the nation fed, and nabim has been working closely with various government departments to ensure they and their teams are fully supported on the ground.
nabim has pressed for a number of supporting measures including:
reminding Government of the key role played by the industry and the benefit of making covid testing available to keyworkers outside the healthcare sector once demand has been met ther
Securing PPE supplies. While the flour milling industry is a relatively small user (just 2,000 masks per month), and use is to protect against dust not C19, certain production jobs cannot be undertaken without them. We have therefore emphasised to government that failure to maintain mask availability to the flour milling sector could have an adverse impact on flour supply
A derogation for the labelling of flour in the event of a shortage of mandatory fortificants.
Labelling guidance for industry in case of shortage of one or more minor ingredients
Initially, the relaxation of drivers’ hours to all sectors (i.e. to include the primary sector) and the subsequent extension of relaxation to 31 May
Support for critical transport infrastructure including GB-NI ferry routes.
Director General Alex Waugh said: “Our members and the people in our businesses have been a credit to the industry. We are proud to be able to support them at this unprecedented time.”
