The food supply chain is high on the agendas of competition
regulators across the European Union (EU). The lead EU competition
regulator, the Brussels-based European Commission (EC), has a
dedicated "Food Task Force," while the European
Competition Network (ECN) (an informal grouping of the EC and the
27 EU member state national competition authorities) also has its
own Food Subgroup. Scrutiny of the area is not likely to decrease,
and companies active at any level of the chain should be aware of
the opportunities and threats that this brings.
The ECN's Food Subgroup published a 150-page report in May
2012 providing a comprehensive description of recent competition
enforcement in the food sector across the EU. The report shows that
competition authorities in the EU have intensified their focus on
the sector, particularly since the food price crisis broke out in
2007. The largest number of cases in the period 2004-2011 concerned
the processing/manufacturing and retail
