Grocery sector news updates

Food sector secretive over sustainability progress
UK food and drink companies are struggling to meet their sustainability targets on waste, renewable technology and sustainable investment. Green technology firm Food Fw analysed publicly available information from 178 companies within the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) in the…
Price incentives, not education, drive healthier choices
Food retailers can play an important role in improving diets by financially incentivising people to make healthier choices, new research has found. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that economic interventions, where retailers manipulate prices…
UK food and health retailers commit to protect Antarctic
UK retailers have brokered a voluntary agreement with the largest krill fishing companies and the NGO Greenpeace to voluntarily restrict fishing in key areas around the Antarctic Peninsula, including “buffer zones” around breeding colonies of penguins. Krill, a small crustacean,…
Organic body plays down glyphosate concerns in new tests
“Trace levels” of the herbicide glyphosate have been found in tests of organic grain and cereal products. The Organic Council, which according to its website is a non-profit campaigning for “totally organic principles”, conducted a “2018 annual organic product pesticide…
Ready meals not fit for flexitarians
Meat still dominates the ready meal aisles of UK supermarkets, according to an analysis by the Eating Better campaign. In a survey of 1,350 ready meals, only 3% were plant-based (without meat, fish, dairy or egg), whilst 77% had meat…
Leeds to pilot on-the-go recycling schemes
A coalition of food companies and NGOs has come together to pilot new ideas for encouraging recycling on-the-go. A six month campaign called #LeedsByExample will launch in Leeds city centre in September. It will test the latest thinking on how…
Food system is ‘brutally unfair’ for producers
Millions of people who produce food for UK supermarkets are “trapped in poverty and face brutal working conditions”, according to a new report by Oxfam. Ripe for Change highlights how supermarkets, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda, Aldi and Lidl, are…
Call for calm after ‘meat’ found in plant-based meals
Traces of pork and turkey have been found in meat-free products sold in Sainsbury’s and Tesco. The Daily Telegraph tested 10 vegan and vegetarian products and found meat in two of them – there were traces of pork and turkey…
Brits will fork out for ethical products
Over two-thirds (67%) of consumers are prepared to pay a premium for environmentally-friendly products, according to new research. The survey of 2,000 people by media agency, MediaCom, also found that good value for money and good quality products are the…
MPs demand mandatory calorie labelling
An influential committee of MPs has called on the government to make calorie labelling mandatory in out of home food settings as part of a raft of new measures to tackle obesity. In a report on childhood obesity published this…