Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Waitrose have joined more than 100 organisations in calling on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to urgently introduce legislation designed to strengthen the UK’s food security.

Co-op and Booths have also backed the campaign for a Good Food Bill, alongside manufacturers including Danone, Greencore and Samworth Brothers and foodservice wholesaler Bidfood.

The retailers supporting the letter collectively account for more than 64 per cent of the UK grocery market, according to The Food Foundation.

The coalition warned that the next major disruption to Britain’s food supply was “not a question of if, but when”, as geopolitical instability, extreme weather and rising farming costs place increasing strain on the sector.

It urged Burnham to put food security on the same strategic footing as energy and defence by introducing a legally binding framework covering food supplies, public health and the resilience of the wider food system.

The proposed Good Food Bill would establish legally binding targets to reduce childhood obesity and household food insecurity, while increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and the proportion of produce grown in Britain.

It would also require the government to publish five-year action plans, consider food when making decisions across areas including health, education, farming, planning and trade, and establish independent oversight of its progress.

Tesco UK chief executive Ashwin Prasad said the supermarket supported the bill’s ambition to create a long-term legal framework that would help children and future generations access healthier food and lifestyles.

He added that greater accountability and cooperation between government, businesses and local communities would be needed to deliver lasting change.

Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts said recent events had demonstrated the pressure facing Britain’s food system.

Roberts called for a more resilient market that attracts investment, supports British farmers and keeps affordable and nutritious products on shelves, adding that food and farming should be placed at the heart of government policy.

The letter claimed domestic fruit and vegetable production has fallen 16% since 2015, leaving the UK reliant on imports for 78 per cent of its supply.

It also highlighted increasing costs for producers, with international conflict said to have pushed fertiliser prices up by around 40 per cent over the past year.

More frequent extreme weather events and biodiversity loss were identified as further threats to harvests and the reliability of food supply chains.

Food prices are forecast to be 50 per cent higher by November than they were at the beginning of the cost-of-living crisis in mid-2021, according to figures highlighted by campaigners.

The coalition said food insecurity was already affecting 15 per cent of households with children, with financial pressures leading some families to reduce their consumption of fruit and vegetables or switch to cheaper, less healthy products.

The campaign is being led by The Food Foundation, Green Alliance and Sustain, with signatories also including Barnardo’s, Amnesty International UK, WWF-UK, the Soil Association and the World Cancer Research Fund International.

Food Foundation executive director Anna Taylor said the UK food system was dangerously exposed to events outside its borders, while farmers were struggling with rising costs and consumers faced widening inequalities in access to healthy food.

She said legislation was needed to provide a long-term framework that would hold successive governments accountable while protecting businesses, farmers and households.

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