Overview
- Food Minister Alois Rainer said he will start the update in the coming months and secure financing within 2026.
- The expanded reserve would include a broad range of shelf‑stable, ready‑to‑eat canned meals instead of relying mainly on raw staples.
- Officials are weighing the use of supermarket warehouses and delivery fleets for crisis storage and distribution, subject to new rules and safeguards.
- Germany’s current federal reserves date to the 1960s, span about 150 sites, and largely consist of grain, peas, lentils, and canned milk that require processing.
- Rainer designated agriculture and the food sector as critical infrastructure and urged contingency planning for failures such as animal water or feed supply disruptions.