Food production 'could go underground'

Future food hygiene professionals could be spending more time out of the sun than in it, as production methods could see farmers heading underground or into high rise buildings, it has been claimed.

Gertjan Meeuws, responsible for marketing, communication and general affairs at PlantLab in Holland, told the BBC Farming Today podcast that the future of food production will likely include mass-produced fruit and veg using hydroponics and other methods that give higher yields than today's farms.

He commented: "In our production units the investments are at least triple the investment of a very modern Dutch greenhouse but on the other side, our production is at least three times more than in a greenhouse."

Elsewhere, Sam Jarvis, head of communications at Waste Watch, recently noted that there needs to be a shift in perception among consumers, with less of a focus on best before dates.

He argued that these are simply a guide to freshness and do not mean food is spoiled when past its best before date.