British Food Fortnight

Who Benefits? The Minnows or the Fat Cats?

I'm a wizzened old cynic at heart, as anyone who really knows me will tell you. I greet phrases like "The worst of the recession is over", "Its in the post" and "Yes Dad, I promise I'll phone Grandma" with the bucket of salt they invariably deserve.

So when I visit the British Food Fortnight website looking for evidence of the promotion of  regional produce and I'm directed to the sites of the major supermarkets, my natural cynicism immediately leaps into overdrive. But am I right to be so dismissive of the event? My foodie heroes The Hairy Bikers say they "love it" - am I really so completely out of touch?

British Food Fortnight was first held in Autumn 2002, supposedly as a celebration of the rich harvest of British produce available in the UK. It claims to have been responsible for increased sales of British food, improved education of children in the benefits of eating British produce, helping increase the proportion of British food bought by government bodies, as well as raising awareness among consumers generally. But have independent producers really benefited from it?

This year's BFF is taking place from 19th September to 4th October (yes it is actually 16 days so that it can cover three weekends). Yet as someone working directly in the food trade, and specialising in British regional produce, I have had not a whiff of publicity or communications from the organisers about the promotion. Tellingly, not one of the independent suppliers I have spoken to in the last few days were even aware of it. 

Not that I think it really matters. Its a bit like Valentine's Day, or Father's Day - I'm sure most lovers and parents (and those who are lucky enough to be both!) would rather be appreciated all year round than in a concentrated burst of frenzied activity once a year. And there's also more than a malodorous whiff of jingoism in much of the BFF publicity. They choose to stress rather smugly on several occasions throughout their promotional  material  that foreign hygiene regulations and farming standards are inferior to our own, rather than promoting the many positive aspects of British produce.  That may well be the case, although many would argue unnecessarily so, and is anyone really going to stop buying Danish bacon, for example, because they fear that the pork may be tainted by sloppy Danish welfare standards? I think not.

I'd be a lot less cynical about British Food Fortnight if it came across more as a genuine attempt to promote local independent producers and retailers over and above the supermarket bandwagon-jumpers. Sadly, there appears to be little or no evidence of that.