Grocery sector news updates

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

Manufacturers hit climate targets ahead of schedule

Manufacturers hit climate targets ahead of schedule
Food manufacturers have set revised targets for reducing carbon emissions after hitting a 2025 ambition five years earlier than planned. The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) said food and drink companies achieved a 55% reduction in CO2 emissions in 2019 compared with a 1990 baseline. As a result, the trade body has now set a…
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Tesco faces investor backlash over healthy foods

Tesco faces investor backlash over healthy foods
Investors are calling on Britain’s largest supermarket to set targets to increase the proportion of healthy products it sells. Tesco is under pressure from a coalition of institutional and retail investors to disclose the share of total food and non-alcoholic drink annual sales by volume made up of healthier products, and publish a review of…
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Supermarkets under pressure to axe toxic chemicals

Supermarkets under pressure to axe toxic chemicals
Supermarkets are being urged to remove food packaging containing a group of industrial chemicals from shelves amid growing concern they risk reducing the efficacy of vaccines and causing long-term environmental harm. Almost 12,000 people have signed a petition urging the UK’s ten largest supermarkets to end the use of PFAS, a group of chemicals added…
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Consumers fear more UK-based industrial farms

Consumers fear more UK-based industrial farms
Consumers are worried about US meat arriving in the UK. However, they are also concerned that more UK farms are mimicking the ‘industrial-sized’ units from across the Atlantic. In a January 2021 survey by the Soil Association, 38% said ‘US-style industrial pig and chicken farms’ should be banned here. Animal welfare (80%) is the main…
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Food giants join covid recovery council

Food giants join covid recovery council
Unilever, Tesco and Prezzo are among the companies represented on a new government business council established to “build back better” after the coronavirus pandemic. The prime minister chaired the first meeting of the new council this week which aims to fuel economic recovery from covid-19 and drive future growth plans including a “green industrial revolution”.…
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Making a meal of worms

Making a meal of worms
Dried yellow mealworms are safe to eat, according to the European Food Safety Authority. However, they may cause allergic reactions in people with allergies to crustaceans and dust mites. The European Commission will now consider the assessment before final market approval in the EU. The provisional green light from EFSA marks a major step forward…
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Recycling trumps romance in New Year’s resolutions

Recycling trumps romance in New Year’s resolutions
Better recycling and eating less meat are among the most common New Year’s resolutions for Brits, according to a new survey. Environmental charity Hubbub polled 3,000 people from a cross-representation of society asking what changes they planned to make in 2021. It found one in six people have resolved to reduce their impact on the…
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Supermarkets under fire following CEO pay gap report

Supermarkets under fire following CEO pay gap report
The average FTSE 100 CEO is now paid around 126 times the average UK worker, compared to ‘only’ 58 times in 1999. Ocado boss Tim Steiner actually pocketed 2,605 times the £22,500 average one of his staff earns. “Put another way, 24 hours of Mr Steiner’s time is allegedly worth a year’s toil from an…
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Net zero used as “veil to disguise climate inaction”

Net zero used as “veil to disguise climate inaction”
Covid-19 has increased the urgency behind business efforts to decarbonise but there remains a gulf between ambition and action, new research has found. A survey of sustainability leaders by consultancy South Pole found that most organisations' climate mitigation efforts have stayed the same or accelerated during the pandemic reflected in a surge of net zero…
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New commodities law ‘not fit for purpose’

New commodities law ‘not fit for purpose’
Campaigners say that plans to ban the purchase of illegally produced food and forest commodities will not be sufficient to tackle deforestation. The government plans to introduce a new law to the Environment Bill which will make it illegal for UK businesses to source key commodities like cocoa, soya and palm oil if they have…
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