Many food and drink manufacturers have made use of the lifeline provided by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – particularly those with production lines purposed for the foodservice industry, where demand has significantly reduced.
Hundreds of employees at a tomato packing site in Worcestershire supplying retailers including Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and the Co-op are being tested for COVID-19, after 14 members of staff tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
First Milk is investing £5m this financial year to boost capacity and meet environmental goals, chief executive Shelagh Hancock and chief financial officer Greg Jardine reveal in this exclusive Food Man Talks video podcast.
Public Health Wales (PHW) has confirmed that ‘widespread’ and ‘rapid’ testing was taking place at dip maker Zorba Delicacies’ Ebbw Vale food processing plant after four confirmed cases of COVID-19 there.
Nestlé UK & Ireland has revealed it is to support 8,000 families at risk of summer holiday hunger with a new £1m investment with Community Shop and FoodCloud
Argent Foods furloughed more than 500 workers in businesses hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic alongside other tough measures, it announced in its financial report for the 12 months to 31 December 2019.
The Welsh meat sector faces “worrying challenges” and “a menacing maelstrom of uncertainty” amid further disruption from coronavirus and an EU trade deadlock, Hybu Cig Cymru-Meat Promotion Wales’ (HCC) chairman Kevin Roberts has warned.
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the ‘strength’ and ‘fragility’ of the food supply chain, according to the Food and Drink Sector Council (FDSC), which has launched a COVID-19 Recovery Plan for the industry.
Strong sales during the coronavirus pandemic will see Signature Flatbreads create 75–100 jobs as part of a significant investment to increase production capacity at its Dunstable factory.
Food and drink manufacturers we’re speaking to were disappointed by the sparse information on shift patterns within the Government’s ‘Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19)’ guidance.
The COVID-19 pandemic could give rise to the biggest case of food fraud since the 2013 horsemeat scandal with “catastrophic effects” food safety assurance specialist Lloyd’s Register has predicted.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Summer Economic Update has been broadly welcomed by members of the food and drink industry, but concerns were raised over the speed at which the sector would be able to recover.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has promised Government support to protect and create new jobs to support the UK economy, along with plans to kick-start the hospitality sector, in a ‘mini-budget’.
Workplace deaths across the manufacturing sector – including food and drink firms – have fallen over the past year, according to the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE’s) annual workplace fatality figures for 2019/20.
Public Health Wales officials have issued an update on the ongoing coronavirus cases at the Welsh factories of 2 Sisters, Rowan Foods and Kepak Merthyr.
Food industry coronavirus initiatives have continued over the past month, with a range of companies offering support to consumers, the NHS and firms in the supply chain.
The coronavirus-hit 2 Sisters Food Group poultry processing site in Llangefni, Wales has reopened today (3 July), after being given the go-ahead from local safety bodies.
The employees tested positive from the 1,400 strong workforce at the factory in the Beaumont Leys area of the city. It followed cases at a number of other food processors in the area, which have reported clusters of COVID-19 at their sites.
UK labour shortages could stunt meat industry growth and create food security risks, but butchers and EU workers offer vital skills pools, according to the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA).
Health officials have revealed that the 2 Sisters Coronavirus outbreak at the Llangefni factory in Wales has been “contained” and there is no evidence of community transmission.
The meat industry has stressed it is working hard to protect workers amid accusations last week that its plants were centres for the spread of COVID-19.
Wholesalers are calling for food manufacturers and the Government to help move ambient and frozen stock out of their warehouses as the foodservice sector prepares to reopen on 4 July.
Princes has reopened its factory site in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire following a 24-hour closure to conduct a deep clean after 14 cases of coronavirus were confirmed at the site.
The food supply chain may take time to adjust to the reopening of the hospitality sector, Kate Nicholls
UKHospitality chief executive has told the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Select Committee.
Food and drink suppliers have been granted more power at the negotiating table after seven years of successful regulation in the groceries sector, according to the exiting Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA).
Premier Foods, the owner of brands such as Mr Kipling, Bisto and Oxo, is expecting a 20% rise in revenue in the first quarter of this financial year, boosted by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Castell Howell Foods, the Carmarthenshire-based food wholesaler and processor, has revealed it is to make job cuts following the impact of the closure of the foodservice and hospitality sector on its business.
A number of cases of coronavirus have been confirmed at Tulip’s Tipton fresh pork manufacturing site, less than a month after confirming the closure of the factory.
Nearly two-thirds of people in Britain have attributed the main reason for eating less healthily than usual during the coronavirus lockdown to boredom, according to the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF).
A ‘bounce back’ plan of trade measures for the agriculture, food and drink industry has been announced by the Government to help support businesses that have been impacted by coronavirus.
Latest update: call for workers at 2 Sisters Sandycroft to be tested after Llangefni outbreak
Online sales in the UK are set to surge by £5.3bn, thanks to the lockdown instigated in the wake of the coronavirus, with food manufacturers already capitalising on the opportunity presented by e-commerce.
Food manufacturers supplying the hospitality and foodservice market need further support as they risk being overlooked in the middle of the supply chain, according to a new report.
Legal action against food manufacturers blamed for letting their employees get sick from the coronavirus would be difficult to prove, but could lead to serious legal ramifications if upheld in court for the entire industry, law firm Walker Morris has...
Food and distribution company Brakes is the latest business to reveal potential job losses in the wake of the Covid-19-related downturn in the hospitality sector.
