Fresh produce

Kale popularity soars on back of celebrity endorsements

14-Jun-2013 - Kale has become the ‘must use’ ingredient for UK soup and snack manufacturers that are increasingly tempted by its nutritional benefits and attractive appearance, according to the latest industry insights.

News in brief

Young shoppers more likely to buy British food

05-Jun-2013 - British food is becoming increasingly popular with youngsters, reveals the latest ShopperVista survey from grocery think-tank IGD.

Flexible flow wrapper makes fruit and veg packing easy

04-Jun-2013 - A horizontal flow wrapper has been designed for packaging fruit and vegetables, bakery, confectionery, snacks and general foods.

Industry cuts back on British potatoes as prices soar

03-Jun-2013 - Food manufacturers such as McCain Foods have been forced to use fewer British potatoes as prices soar in the wake of last year’s poor harvest.

Morrisons’ Ocado deal leads Waitrose to focus on legal action

20-May-2013 - Waitrose is considering legal action after its long-term online grocery distribution partner Ocado signed a deal with Morrisons last week.

Morrisons strikes online grocery deal with Ocado

17-May-2013 - Supermarket Morrisons has agreed a partnership with the online distribution business Ocado – including the acquisition of its distribution centre – in a deal that will see deliveries to customers start by January 2014.

Sainsbury ‘grandfather’ praised for sound results: City

08-May-2013 - Sainsbury boss Justin King – “the grandfather of UK supermarkets” – has drawn praise from City analyst Shore Capital, after the nation’s third largest retailer reported sales, including fuel, up by 4.5% to £23.3bn for the year to March 16.

Vegetable detection moves up a notch

30-Apr-2013 - Processing up to nine tonnes of fresh vegetables for the retail and catering sectors seven days a week, demands impeccable hygiene and safety from Express Potato Supply of Weymouth.

Water jet boosts shelf-life and presentation

04-Mar-2013 - Len Wright Salads has eliminated the potential for fresh produce contamination and extended shelf-life by replacing the traditional circular blade method of 'top and tailing' celery with the latest Water Jet technology.

Kids will go potty for fruit in jelly

04-Mar-2013 - Crosse & Blackwell has teamed up with Disney to launch a new range of fruit in jelly pots under its 4Kids brand, to drive value and penetration into the £39.1M potted fruit market.

Double fatality in apple packing shed

21-Feb-2013 - Police and the Health and Safety Executive are investigating the death of two farm workers in the 20s, who fell unconscious in an apple packing shed on a Conservative peer’s country estate in Hampshire.

News in brief

Rodent infestation forces KB Natural Foods recall

19-Feb-2013 - KB Natural Foods is recalling three batches of its own-label pre-packaged cashew nuts and almonds because of a rodent infestation.

Nanotech unearths iron-enriched potatoes to tackle anaemia

30-Jan-2013 - Pioneering nanotechnology research to enrich the iron content of potatoes could result in a range of fortified crops, according to researchers at Nottingham Trent University’s School of Science and Technology.

Ocado’s appointment of Stuart Rose as chairman welcomed by City

22-Jan-2013 - Online grocer Ocado’s appointment of former Marks & Spencer (M&S) boss Sir Stuart Rose has been welcomed by City analyst Shore Capital, while acknowledging the challenges he faces.

Illegal food workers: two deported and two jailed

22-Jan-2013 - Two illegal workers have been jailed for documentation offences and two deported after the UK Border Agency (UKBA) arrested five immigration offenders in a raid at a Somerset egg production facility.

Governments should tell retailers to cut food waste

11-Jan-2013 - Governments in developed nations should tell retailers not to reject foods on the basis of appearance, in a bid to prevent half of all food ending up as waste, according to a new report from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) .

GM could give flatulence-free sprouts for Christmas

21-Dec-2012 - Genetic modification (GM) could be used to produce flatulence-free sprouts, according to Rothamsted Research centre in Hertfordshire.

Chilled & Fresh Manufacturing Company of the Year

04-Dec-2012 - Sponsored by: NFT DistributionWinner: Greencore Northampton

Own-label foods to continue gains over branded: Kantar

03-Dec-2012 - Branded food manufacturers are set to suffer further losses in market share as own-label products continue to grow in popularity, according to consumer market researcher, Kantar Worldpanel.

Vegetable processor plans to build new £2M facility

03-Dec-2012 - A family-run vegetable processor has ambitious plans to build a £2M vegetable processing plant that will lead to the creation of 25 jobs in Norfolk.

Hedon Salads goes into administration

26-Nov-2012 - One of the UK’s largest salad producers Hedon Salads has gone into administration and stopped trading.

£30M plan for UK tomato business

26-Nov-2012 - Plans for a £30M tomato growing business in Suffolk, which could produce about 10% of the UK’s tomatoes using heat from a nearby incinerator, have been unveiled.

Food manufacturer in row over £23,500 labels fine

15-Nov-2012 - A Suffolk food firm claims its £23,500 fine for making false claims about the ingredients in its pesto was “heavy handed” and “wasted public money”, adding that Cambridgeshire County Council backed its view.

Salad firm ordered to pay £16k after near fatal fall

08-Nov-2012 - East Yorkshire salad company Hedon Salads has been ordered to pay £16,421 after a worker fell more than 4m (13ft) through a greenhouse roof.