A new sustainability scheme has been launched to help institutional caterers incentivise people to eat more plants. The Kale Yeah! scheme from Friends of the Earth encourages caterers in places such as universities and workplaces to rebalance menus away from animal products towards vegetables, pulses and beans. The scheme, which has been piloted with the…

Food businesses have hit back at the “astonishing timing” of a government plan to restrict online advertising of unhealthy foods which they claim disregards evidence for how marketers target adverts. Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Social Care published a consultation on proposals to ban adverts for foods high in sugar, salt or…

Industry leaders have accused the government of imposing “a lockdown in all but name” on the hospitality sector following the transition to a new localised tier system for managing the spread of covid-19. UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said measures which will see businesses in tier 3 allowed to provide takeaway or delivery only, and…

How do you encourage consumers to adopt reusable packaging systems? When are they most willing to reuse and why? What materials should the packaging be made of? And what are the environmental benefits of reuse versus single-use? All questions that often leave foodservice companies scratching their heads. But worry no more: experts from the Grantham…

Brits need to eat more fruit and veg. That much we knew. But will there be enough to go around and is it affordable? A new study published in Nature Food suggests maybe not. “The increased reliance on fruit and vegetable imports from climate-vulnerable countries will, if no adequate climate change adaptation measures are taken…

Online adverts for foods high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) are set to be banned as part of the UK government’s efforts to tackle obesity. The Department of Health and Social Care published a consultation this week on proposals to ban adverts across social and other online media with research showing children are exposed…

The UK is set to become the first country in the world to require companies to disclose their climate-related financial risk. Chancellor Rishi Sunak this week announced the introduction of more robust environmental disclosure standards that will allow investors and businesses to understand exposure to climate change and price climate-related risks more accurately. The UK…

We need you! Please take our five-minute survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/cateringedu. Covid-19 has created a raft of challenges for catering in the education sector from multiple sittings and restricted menus to an increased propensity towards disposables. This making it harder to provide nutritious food whilst finding efficiencies, managing costs and keeping sustainability at the heart of the…

The government this week performed two u-turns that should help hospitality businesses weather a “bleak-looking winter period”. First, pubs were given the green light to sell takeaway beer. Some estimates suggest that some 7.5 million pints of beer will be saved. Orders will need to be made by phone, web or post. Then yesterday, as…

Misleading environmental claims are to be the focus of a new work stream launched by the UK’s competition and markets authority. The watchdog is also planning a “sweep” of company websites both in the UK and internationally to spot greenwashing. Last year, consumers spent £41 billion on ethical goods and services. Research last year by…