London, 23 March 2020 – The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has appointed GS1 UK chairman Chris Tyas to a strategic role to help ensure the nation’s supply chain integrity as the country reacts to the global pandemic.

The priorities of the position will be to identify immediate issues and ensure the entire grocery sector adopts a co-ordinated approach to the months ahead, including addressing potential pinch points.

Before becoming GS1 UK chairman at the end of 2018 Tyas spent more than four decades in the food industry, the majority of it with multinational Nestle; latterly heading up its global supply chain.

He has considerable experience of managing major wide scale crises, including BSE, foot and mouth, melamine and the horsemeat scandal.

Gary Lynch, CEO of GS1 UK, said: “With more than 40,000 members across a variety of sectors including a significant percentage in grocery retail and food and drink, we have been doing everything we can to provide ongoing support and advice to these organisations.

“Despite repeated reassurances from the Government and the retail industry about the resilience of the UK’s supply chain, the public are failing to heed the advice, so this latest request for retail expertise shows the state is drawing on all available knowledge to react to the pandemic.

“Chris has a detailed understanding not only of smoothing supply chain issues but also of reassuring customers during crises and ensuring their trust hasn’t been compromised, which makes him an ideal fit for such an important role during these unprecedented times.

“He has our full backing in taking on this vital position and we will do everything we can to provide him with any additional support he requires.”

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About GS1 UK

GS1 UK is just one of 114 neutral and independent GS1 organisations operating worldwide. From product barcodes to patient wristbands, GS1 standards have been transforming the way we work and live for more than 40 years.

Whether online, in store or in a hospital, the common language of GS1 global standards is helping our community of more than 40,000 organisations across Britain to uniquely identify, describe and track anything, creating greater trust in data for everyone.

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