Grocery sector news updates

Latest grocery news and information for businesses, consumers, restaurants, school and hospital cafeterias, catering operations and other foodservice providers.

Grocery sector’s green claims are greenwash, according to research

Grocery sector’s green claims are greenwash, according to research
Greenwashing is “rampant” across UK supermarkets with chains promoting “minor” green initiatives while avoiding significant action on emissions from meat and dairy products, according to research by Feedback, an NGO. “Our research shows that all 10 UK supermarkets are failing to take basic measures to address their sales of meat and dairy products, despite these…
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Junk foods deals dwarf veg promotions

Junk foods deals dwarf veg promotions
Around a third of supermarket volume promotions or multi-buy offers are on unhealthy foods with less than 4% on fruit and vegetables. Research from The Food Foundation found that foods high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) account for a significant proportion of promotions such as buy-one-get-one-free (BOGOF) deals available in the UK’s five largest…
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Regenerative milk pool announced

Regenerative milk pool announced
Farmer-owned dairy cooperative First Milk and manufacturer Yeo Valley Production are to create a “regenerative milk pool” in the south west of England. The two organisations have together created the ‘Naturally better dairy group’, which will see the regenerative milk processed into dairy products. The farmers involved will have to commit to delivering what the…
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Government backs away from bogof ban

Government backs away from bogof ban
This week the government announced that the ban on bogof and multibuy deals for unhealthy food are to be delayed to October 2025.  “[…] at a time when household budgets are under continuing pressure from the global rise in food prices, it is not fair for government to restrict the options available to consumers on…
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Supermarkets urged to come clean over sugar

<strong>Supermarkets urged to come clean over sugar</strong>
Leading supermarkets have been challenged to publicly disclose their sugar sales and commit to reduce them following the failure of voluntary reformulation efforts. The final results of the government’s sugar reduction programme published in December showed that average sugar content of products covered by the programme fell by just 3.5% against a 20% target, while…
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The plastic pollutant hiding in plain site

The plastic pollutant hiding in plain site
Research has found that farm plastics are a major pollution problem but not a priority for supermarkets. By David Burrows There is more plastic in soils than in the sea, warned the Food and Agriculture Organization in 2021, but is anything being done about it? Not really, according to research published by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). Agriplastics include protective…
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Supermarkets to standardise scope 3 reporting

<strong>Supermarkets to standardise scope 3 reporting</strong>
The UK’s largest supermarkets will join forces to standardise how they measure and report the climate impact of food in what is being billed as an “unprecedented collaboration” to tackle greenhouse gas emissions. Wrap and WWF are leading the new collaboration with eight supermarkets which will standardise the way scope 3 emissions are measured and…
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Ultra-processed foods linked to cancer risk

<strong>Ultra-processed foods linked to cancer risk</strong>
Diets high in ultra-processed foods could be linked to an increased risk of developing and dying from cancer, a new study has found. Researchers from Imperial College London’s School of Public Health found that higher consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with a greater risk of developing cancer overall, and specifically with ovarian and brain…
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Bucks for beans under extended farm payment scheme

Bucks for beans under extended farm payment scheme
Farmers will be paid for reducing insecticides and growing legumes as part of government plans to encourage more environmentally friendly farming. Defra secretary, Thérèse Coffey, this week announced a raft of new plans for the UK Government’s environmental land management schemes (ELMs) which are designed to incentivise farmers to produce food sustainably while protecting nature…
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Food workers on the breadline while CEOs prosper

Food workers on the breadline while CEOs prosper
Supermarket CEOs are earning up to 224 times more than their average employee, who are increasingly battling food poverty, writes Jack Thompson.  Tortoise Media’s Responsibility 100 Index scores companies on environmental, social and ethical metrics and compares how their claims match up to their action.  Its findings exposed a continued trend of those at the top prospering while…
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