Food groups are pushing for consultations on a plastics tax and a new deposit return scheme to be postponed while the industry deals with the fallout from Brexit. Sky News reported this week that 32 trade associations, including UK Hospitality and the Food and Drink Federation, have written to Environment Secretary Michael Gove saying they…

The government should encourage the British public to eat more oily fish species caught by British vessels after Brexit, according to a report. The most popular species in the UK like cod and haddock have to be largely imported, while species that are plentiful in UK waters such as mackerel and herring are mostly exported…

EU Member States should be required to develop healthy diet plans in order to unlock farm payments, according to a new report. The idea is one of 80 concrete proposals set out in a new Common Food Policy for Europe which also calls for food suppliers to be accountable for ensuring their supply chains are…

Investors worth £5 trillion have claimed that some of the world’s largest foodservice chains are ignoring the environmental impact of their supply chains. Domino’s Pizza, McDonald’s, Restaurant Brands International (owners of Burger King), Chipotle Mexican Grill, Wendy’s Co. and Yum! Brands (owners of KFC and Pizza Hut) have continued to expand with little concern for…

Organic sales into foodservice increased 7.8% in 2018 to £90.9m; five years ago the market was worth only £48.8m. Of the total, £19.5m came through the Soil Association’s Food for Life scheme. The double digit increases of previous years have slowed due to public spending cuts and “political uncertainty”, said the Association, but sales were…

Supplies of British fresh produce and wine are under threat from climate change, prompting calls for the whole food chain to act faster to limit carbon emissions. Severe flooding or storms have affected more than half of all UK farms in the past decade. Drought and extreme heat last year resulted in a 20% drop…

The Government has begun consulting on an overhaul of food allergen information laws that will ensure “labels are clearer and that the rules for businesses are more consistent”. In a consultation launched this week and running until March 29th, Defra outlined four possible options: mandating full ingredient list labelling; mandating allergen-only labelling on food packaging;…

Of the top 100 restaurant chains in the US, 45 don’t offer a plant-based starter, according to the latest Good Food Restaurant Scorecard. The Good Food Institute’s report, now in its second year, ranks the chains based on the breadth and depth of their plant-based entrées and their promotion of plant-based eating. The scorecard uses…

Caterlink, Olive Catering, Vertas and Compass Group UK & Ireland, along with the University of West London, have signed up to the Peas Please initiative, which works to increase vegetable consumption in the UK. This brings the number of catering firms involved in the scheme to 14. The announcement follows news last week that Brits…