The UK's food supply system is under increasing pressure from a range of threats, including climate change, disease outbreaks, and cyber-attacks, according to a recent report by the National Audit Office (NAO). The watchdog has called on the Department for Food, the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) to collaborate more closely with households, communities, and businesses to ensure the food supply can handle unexpected disruptions. While Defra has taken some steps to prepare for future challenges, the report highlights that it has not done enough in recent years to involve citizens and industry in emergency planning. Britain imports more than a third of its food, with most of it arriving through four major ports: Dover, Felixstowe, Southampton, and London Gateway. This reliance on overseas imports makes the food supply chain especially vulnerable to disruptions, such as extreme weather events or geopolitical conflicts. Experts have warned that households should stockpile long-lasting food items to prepare for emergencies. Research shows that Britons are less prepared for major disruptions compared to people in other European countries. The food supply chain faced significant pressure during the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but major supermarkets generally kept goods flowing without major government intervention. However, Defra is less confident that the private sector can withstand future shocks, such as extreme weather, without more government support. While food industry businesses praised Defra's efforts during the pandemic, they noted a decline in communication since then. The NAO report found that companies had limited input into government plans for responding to supply disruptions, which could lead to less practical solutions. Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, acknowledged the resilience of the UK’s food supply chain but warned that the risks are growing in both likelihood and severity. He urged Defra to learn from other countries and to improve preparedness by testing plans with local government and industry. The government has classified food as one of 13 critical national infrastructure sectors, but food industry representatives argue this is not enough. They have called for cold stores and food transport hubs to be added to the critical list to ensure their power supplies are maintained during large-scale outages. The NAO report follows a call from the Cold Chain Federation, a trade body for cold storage and logistics, which accused the government of being complacent about food storage and urged ministers to treat potential disruptions to the food system as an immediate national priority. The last national exercise testing Defra’s preparedness for catastrophic food supply disruptions was in 2023, but it did not include most supply chain businesses. Additionally, local resilience forums said they lacked clear guidance from Defra on their roles during a disruption.