The UK’s new Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) minister of state has said one of its priorities is to ditch “unnecessary regulatory burdens”.

Addressing members of the food and beverage industry at parliament, MP Daniel Zeichner stressed that the new government recognised “food security is part of national security”, reported Food Manufacture.

“In our manifesto, we stated that food security is part of national security and I think that is a message which is universally acknowledged as being important,” said Zeichner.

“The industry’s efforts to produce nutritious and delicious products ensure that families across the country can have access to quality food. We know that despite food being seen as cheap historically, there are so many people struggling to afford it and we acknowledge that”.

Zeichner also went on to say Defra aimed to make the UK a “clean energy superpower”, and intended to focus on “green energy solutions and sustainable supply chains.”

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“We will try and create a zero waste economy, We are absolutely focused on innovation and we have drawn up an industrial strategy centred on future growth. We want to remove the barriers to growth and we genuinely feel that together we can unlock the full potential of the technologies that are no available to us.”

Elsewhere in the industry, the new Defra minister said that the department would scrap “unnecessary regulatory burdens”.

“We understand that it has been a very challenging few years and that trade is a vital part of the food and drink sector.

“We want to maximise the benefits of imports and exports while ensuring that UK produce can compete on the international scale. And finally we are ready to partner with the food and drink industry and by working together we can ensure that the sector can continue to thrive.”

It follows Labour’s general manifesto proposals during the election campaign that pledged, among other measures, to strike new free trade agreements and expand markets for British exporters, as well as improve the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU by tearing down unnecessary barriers to trade.