The government’s forthcoming 25-year Food and Farming Plan has been slammed for its failure to address key issues of sustainability and described as a missed opportunity and “doomed to be irrelevant within five years” by a leading food policy expert.
2 Sisters Food Group has promoted Jonathan Russell to director of group procurement, responsible for the manufacturer’s £1.5bn a year purchasing budget and for managing its supply chain.
Food manufacturers are being invited to improve traceability by joining a network of primary producers that can validate claims about the origins of their products.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has set out how it will use science, evidence and information to deliver food consumers can trust in three documents published today (February 23).
Carrot growers could boost their marketable yields by almost 20% if they adopted a more comprehensive understanding of soil nutrition, a crop trial specialist has found.
The way food manufacturers and growers handle ‘big data’ is expected to be one of the main industry trends of 2016, the head of a government innovation agency has claimed.
The future of the UK’s agricultural technologies (agritech) strategy has been called into question after last year’s “savage cuts” in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ budget, which is likely to feed through into a reduction of its...
The National Farmers Union (NFU) has appointed Terry Jones – currently director general of the Provision Trade Federation (PTF) – as its new director general.
Sainsbury’s director of brand Judith Batchelar has called for a far more joined up solution to the huge problems of structural change affecting the UK’s food supply chain.
Mars Food, the owner of Uncle Ben’s, has announced the first global standard for sustainable rice in partnership with the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP).
Food and drink manufacturers could reduce costs and improve their environmental footprint by developing new sustainable technologies as a result of the UK’s first big data centre of excellence for Agrimetrics at Rothamstead, Hertfordshire.
The food industry must focus on seven key objectives in order to boost production and increase availability and access to food “significantly” over the next decade to meet the demands of a growing global population, according to Rabobank.
Edible insects pose no special risks to human health – when consumed directly or used as stock feed – according to a new risk assessment from the European food safety watchdog.
A ban on genetically modified (GM) crops in Scotland would seriously undermine the nation’s food and drink industry, warn nearly 30 leading organisations.
The EU needs to adopt a new stabilisation model from 2020 to counter extreme volatility in prices for commodities, such as wheat and maize, caused by speculation in global markets, according to the boss of French grain co-operative Limagrain.
The future of the agriculture levy boards, which form part of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB,) in public hands could be in doubt following the suggestion by a senior industry source that the Conservative government might consider...
Genetically modified (GM) cereals and oilseeds could benefit consumers, farmers and the animal feed supply chain, while boosting UK competitiveness in the global market, claims new independent research.
Welsh beef farmers’ fears Red Tractor accreditation would “increase costs” throughout the supply chain without any return have been dismissed by David Clarke, boss of Assured Food Standards (AFS), which operates the Red Tractor quality assurance scheme.
Alara Wholefoods aims to create 17 jobs over the course of this year off the back of strong demand for its organic and gluten-free muesli and other food lines.
Food manufacturing boss Fiona Kendrick, who has pledged to help plug the sector skills gap, has received a top New Year Honour for ‘services to Kit Kats’, according to The Guardian.
People in developed countries such as the UK need to completely change the food they eat if the world is to avoid a catastrophe from rising global food demand from a rising world population and climate change, a leading food security expert has warned.
Moy Park chicken grower Graham McIlroy has invested in a viewing gallery to improve the biosecurity at his farm at Aghadowey in what is a first for the Northern Ireland poultry industry.
Insects are unlikely to become a viable solution to feeding the increasing global population if western attitudes towards them remain negative, according to a leading analyst.
Food prices would rocket if pesticides were banned or their use severely restricted, according to the National Farmers Union (NFU); a claim hotly disputed by environmental pressure group Friends of the Earth (FoE).
Increased global demand for meat will force food manufacturers to find innovative ways of using less but better meat or meat substitutes in their products, industry experts have predicted.
A new research project could help protect the meat industry against the threat of climate change and food in security, according to the University of Edinburgh.
Global agricultural yields are dropping and more farmer-focused research is urgently needed to strengthen sustainable food supply, according to an article published in Nature magazine.
Farmers stepping into food manufacturing to supplement their incomes should use the opportunity to showcase the qualities of the rural sector, such as better food security and freshness, the National Farmers Union (NFU) president has said.
If government and industry are to overcome unfounded opposition to genetic modification (GM) technologies, they should clearly communicate the challenges facing sustainable food production, the Prime Minister’s scientific advisers have claimed.
Extreme weather poses the biggest threat to securing UK food supplies, experts at an Environment Food & Rural Affairs (EFRA) Select Committee hearing claimed.
McDonald’s has stressed its commitment to sustainable beef supply standards and practices a year after the horsemeat affair began, claiming it aims to strengthen industry farming practices.
Europe will become a food and farming museum without science on genetic modification (GM), environment secretary Owen Paterson has warned – echoing food manufacturers’ long-standing fears.
Local food initiatives – which aim to slash the length of supply chains – are blossoming across Europe, but their impact on the environment is not necessarily better than that of mainstream manufacturing, a leading academic has revealed.
Those who oppose genetically modified (GM) rice enhanced with vitamin A in Africa and Asia are “wicked” and could be responsible for millions of premature deaths, warns environment secretary Owen Paterson.
The “sustainable intensification” of farming – including the use of genetic modification (GM) – is vital for feeding the developing world and enabling global manufacturers to secure enough raw materials to feed a growing population.
Food security is threatened by the global trade in farm products – which allows crop pests and diseases to spread worldwide – and climate change – which allows them to establish in new locations, according to new research published in the journal Nature...
British food manufacturers will be able to draw on food ingredients produced by a high output, environmentally friendly and progressive modern farming industry, thanks to the new “green revolution”, after the launch of an Agri-tech Strategy today (July...
The Scotch Whisky industry is threatened by Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform measures that could restrict Scottish malted barley supplies to distillers, despite changes being hailed as a food security breakthrough.
A keynote speech from environment secretary Owen Paterson, urging the widespread adoption of genetically modified (GM) science and crops in Europe, has drawn both praise and criticism.
Europe risks becoming a “museum of 20th century technology” unless EU rules on genetically modified (GM) crops are relaxed, government ministers have warned EU officials.
Scientific progress towards boosting food production, while minimising environmental impacts will be “doomed to failure” in the UK unless food manufacturers and retailers support primary producers with realistic prices, warns the editor of a new report,...
Developing modern technologies and the genetic modification (GM) of crops and animals are the top two of eight research priorities identified by a group of primary producers bidding to influence the government’s agri-technology strategy, due to be launched...
The government’s new chief scientific advisor, Sir Mark Walport, has stirred up the genetic modification (GM) debate by setting out his pro-GM view on the food supply chain.