Fresh produce

Food and drink in Scotland could see a £750M boost if producers take on public-sector contracts, such as school dinners

Potential £750M boost to Scottish food industry

By Gwen Ridler

Scotland’s food and drink industry could get a £750M boost, as the government plans to make public-sector catering contracts more accessible to Scottish businesses. 

Potatoes, along with grains, pulses and seeds, are a natural source of resistant starch

Resistant starch shown to offer gut health boost

By Noli Dinkovski

The potential health benefits of resistant starch (RS) could lead it to being classified as a prebiotic under the EU’s health claim process, according to a review.

Lidl is to donate 2M meals a year to charities

Lidl to donate 2M meals a year

By Gwen Ridler

Discount retailer Lidl is to donate up to 2M meals a year to people facing food poverty in the UK, as part of its plans to donate food surplus to local food charities.

Philip Hambling is the NFU's new head of food and farming

Food boss appointed at NFU

By Gwen Ridler

The National Farmers Union (NFU) has appointed Philip Hambling as its new head of food and farming, to lead its food chain and commodity areas.

The FDF’s Ian Wright urged the prime minister to reassure the food industry about its continued access to foreign labour

Business Leaders’ Forum

FDF boss urges PM to offer labour supply assurances

By Michael Stones

The UK food industry urgently needs assurances from the prime minister about the security of EU nationals working in the UK after Brexit, says Food and Drink Federation (FDF) director general Ian Wright.

The UK courgette shortage has sparked a social media storm

Courgette shortage sparks social media storm

By Gwen Ridler

Reports of a shortage of courgettes in the UK have sparked a social media storm, as hundreds of people took to Twitter to express their views on the “famine”.

Groceries Code Adjudicator Christine Tacon should be given wider powers, says the National Farmers Union

Groceries adjudicator needs more powers: NFU

By Gwen Ridler

The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) needs greater powers to crack down on unfair trading practices following “the increasing consolidation of suppliers and processors”, according to the National Farmers Union (NFU).

Tesco reported a 1.1% rise in sales in its latest trading update

Tesco fresh food sales drive festive growth

By Matt Atherton

Tesco reported a 1.1% rise in total sales in the 19 weeks to January 7, including a 1.3% rise in like-for-like food sales over the Christmas period.

Morrisons' boss praises food makers after the retailer reports its best sales performance for seven years

Morrisons’ food makers praised as festive sales rise

By Matt Atherton

Morrisons’ chief executive David Potts praised the retailer’s “food makers and shopkeepers”, after it reported its strongest sales performance for seven years in a Christmas trading update.

Chef Neven Maguire (left) with Foodovation manager Brian McDermott

New food innovation centre opens in Northern Ireland

By Rick Pendrous

Northern Ireland now has a new focus for food innovation, following the official opening in November by North West Regional College (NWRC) of the region’s first centre of excellence for food development and technology.

DEFRA minister George Eustice promised Brexit would mean less red tape

Exclusive video interview

Food industry red tape to end after Brexit: DEFRA

By Michael Stones

Brexit will bring an end to food industry red tape, promises George Eustice, minister of state at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

James Kempley and Troy Foods’s own-label mayonnaise

Troy Foods launches own-label mayonnaise

By Gwen Ridler

Vegetable and salad producer Troy Foods is to launch its own range of mayonnaise, following a £200,000 investment into production capacity.

Xylene, a chemical found in paint thinner, sparked a recall of gravy sold at Lidl

Harmful chemicals force Lidl gravy recall

By Gwen Ridler

Discount retailer Lidl has recalled two batches of gravy granules, after harmful levels of a chemical found in paint stripper were discovered in them.

Jay Rayner highlighted the need for higher food prices

Food prices ‘must rise for our security’

By Rick Pendrous

Consumers will have to pay more for their food to enable British farmers to invest and ensure the future food security of the nation following the Brexit vote, leading food critic, writer, journalist and broadcaster Jay Rayner has claimed.

Brexit presented Britain’s biggest peacetime challenge, said Ian Wright

Brexit is ‘biggest problem in peacetime’: FDF boss

By Noli Dinkovski

Brexit has left government and industry faced with the “most important, complex and troubling issue in peacetime history”, the boss of the food and drink sector’s biggest trade body has claimed.

Nutrition labelling of prepacked foods is mandatory from December 13

FoodDrinkEurope welcomes new EU nutrition labelling rule

By Matt Atherton

New mandatory nutrition labelling rules of prepacked food have been welcomed by FoodDrinkEurope, after they came into effect this week (December 13), under the EU’s Food Information to Consumers Regulation (FIR).

Cargill has opened an innovation centre in China

Cargill opens China innovation centre

By Gwen Ridler

Global ingredients supplier Cargill has opened an innovation centre, designed to create new food products and flavours for its customers, in China.

NFU boss Minette Batters warned the UK horticultural sector was particularly dependent on continental labour

Veg sector ‘most at risk’ from Brexit labour shortages

By Rick Pendrous

Brexit is the greatest policy challenge facing UK farmers at present, with continued uncertainty about access to the single market and huge concerns about access to workers from EU Member States – particularly within the horticulture sector, the deputy...

The benefits of bio-fortification of crops cannot be ignored, says Sainsbury’s Brand boss Judith Batchelar

‘Bio-fortification’ of crops can meet global nutrition demand

By Rick Pendrous

The food supply chain will need to adopt advanced technologies – such as “bio-fortification of crops” – if the world is to meet the huge nutritional challenges it faces in the years ahead, says Judith Batchelar, director of Sainsbury’s Brand, who is responsible...

Industry insiders are encouraged to use the new Food Crime Confidential to report offences

Food Crime Unit launches confidential hotline

By Gwen Ridler

A confidential food crime hotline has been launched by the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU), which it hoped would encourage industry insiders to report offences.

An artists impression of that new food park. Courtesy of Hacer Developments

Food park could create 1k jobs

By Gwen Ridler

Up to 1,000 food and drink jobs could be created in Pembrokeshire, after plans were unveiled for a new food park.

Potato firm fined £3,000 for food safety offences

Potato firm fined £3,000 for pest control failures

By Matt Atherton

Potato processing firm Glenview Foods was fined £3,000 on November 9, after pleading guilty to six food safety offences last week, including failing to properly clean its facility and conduct pest control.

Winning line up: Mash Direct’s Jack Hamilton collects the top award from Michael Page Engineering and Manufacturing's senior manager Louise Mcreynolds and awards host Carol Smillie

Food Manufacture Excellence Awards

Mash Direct in monster win at manufacturing Oscars

By Michael Stones

Mash Direct, the Northern Ireland-­based ready meal and prepared vegetable supplier, has won the coveted overall Food Manufacture company of the year at the food and drink manufacturing Oscars, alongside the title Chilled, fresh and dairy manufacturing...

Morrisons posted like-for-like sales growth in the third quarter of the year

Morrisons announces sales growth

By Gwen Ridler

Retailer Morrisons’ like-for-like sales have grown in the 13 weeks to October 30 2016, while total sales for the company had fallen. 

5M pumpkins end up in landfill after Halloween

Halloween horror as 25Mkg of pumpkins wasted

By Matt Atherton

More than 5M pumpkins end up in landfill after Halloween – a real life “food waste horror story” – research by Unilever and charity Hubbub has revealed.

GMO production could become legal in the UK after Brexit

GMO law change will lead to glut of imports

By Rick Pendrous

Any deregulation of food made with genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in the UK after Brexit is likely to result in a huge rise in imports of GM products from Asia and the Americas, a technical expert has warned.

Branston in £5M factory expansion

Branston in £5M factory expansion to reduce waste

By Matt Atherton

Potato supplier Branston has partnered with Tesco to open a £5M extension of its Lincolnshire factory, which will be used to reduce food waste by peeling wonky spuds for mashed potato.

Sharding of plastic film on packs is overcome

Sharding of plastic film on packs is overcome

By Rick Pendrous

The problem of ‘sharding’, where the plastic film covering packs of prepared fruit and salads tears apart upon opening, has been overcome by Sealed Air using its Cryovac Sealappeal product.

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