Foodservice News and Information

Latest Foodservice News information for businesses, consumers, restaurants, school and hospital cafeterias, catering operations and food service industry providers.

Concerns over chemicals in food packaging rise

Research by European consumer organisation BEUC shows that most consumers believe that the safety and use information provided on food packaging is either not understandable or insufficient.  A survey of around 1,000 people in each of 11 EU countries for a new report – ‘Unwrapped: what consumers say about safe and sustainable food packaging’ – showed two in…
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The Friday Digest: Dietary change looms large over Sunak summit

As Rishi Sunak prepares to welcome food industry leaders to an emergency food summit next week, two new reports served as a timely reminder of the dietary changes needed for the UK to reach its health and environmental goals. The first, from WWF, showed how adopting a diet rich in plants and wholegrains could deliver a 36% reduction in emissions and a…
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Compass reveals plan to decarbonise millions of meals

Compass is planning to reformulate up to 90,000 recipes to reduce their carbon impact as part of a new strategic partnership with footprinting platform Foodsteps. The UK’s biggest caterer said the tie-up would give more than 4,000 chefs across its UK and Ireland business improved capability to measure in real time the carbon footprint of…
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Toxic packaging a threat to health 

Urgent action is needed to address toxicity in plastics after a report linked numerous groups of chemicals to adverse impacts on human health and the environment. Ten groups of chemicals used in plastic production and found in a wide range of products including food packaging were identified as being of major concern due to their…
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24% of UK consumers want regulations to reduce meat and dairy intake

Consumers are willing to take personal steps to combat climate change, so long as their lifestyles don’t change too much and the government intervenes too. A seven-country YouGov survey, reported exclusively by The Guardian, found many people in the UK, France, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Germany and Spain, were happy with net-zero measures that would not greatly affect the way…
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Major firms lack wide-reaching responsible marketing frameworks

Most of the world’s biggest companies have responsible marketing frameworks in place and recognise their growing importance but few have policies which cover all key areas, according to research by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA). The most covered areas are marketing and children (83%) and influencer marketing (75%). The least covered area is environmental…
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Government urged to act as energy crisis sees more hospitality businesses fail

Trade bodies representing pubs and hospitality businesses are (again) calling for urgent government intervention on “unfair energy costs and contracts”. The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), UKHospitality (UKH) and the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) have written to Amanda Solloway, minister for energy consumers and affordability, demanding support for hospitality businesses “on the brink…
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Footprint Awards 2023 Shortlist Announced

We are delighted to announce the shortlist for Footprint Awards 2023, revealing the foodservice and hospitality sector’s leading responsible business initiatives.  Footprint Awards remains the only initiative to honour the achievements of companies in the area of sustainability and responsible business practice in the out of home sector. These awards are open to organisations at…
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Campaigners call for improvement in chicken welfare

Food businesses are being urged to prioritise higher welfare chicken as part of a transformation of the poultry sector. Compassion in World Farming this week published its first report on companies’ progress towards meeting the ‘better chicken commitment’ (BCC), which requires businesses to achieve higher welfare criteria including lower stocking densities, the use of slower growing, more…
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Ultra-processed foods ‘can contribute to healthy diet’

Ultra-processed foods should not be targeted for blanket avoidance in national dietary guidelines, according to the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF). In a new position statement on ultra-processed foods (UPF) the BNF, whose corporate members include Greggs, McDonald’s and Coca Cola, said that in countries such as the UK, UPF currently make a significant contribution to…
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