Foodservice News Analysis

Foodservice news analysis. Get the inside track on the key stories breaking in the foodservice sector, from Footprint’s expert researchers and editorial team.

OOH ‘hidden sugar’ leads to calls for mandatory labelling

Another day, another analysis of the unhealthy offerings in the UK’s out of home (OOH) sector. What’s the story? Action on Sugar surveyed 191 products from restaurants, cafés and takeaways (including 94 crepes, 12 pancakes, 16 pretzels and 69 waffles and their toppings). What did they find? A lot of sugar. Almost half (42%) of…

First plastics, then palm oil. But is Iceland’s shun-stuff-to-look-sustainable policy all for show? It’s record on soya suggests so, says David Burrows. In January last year Iceland committed to eliminate plastic packaging from all of its own-brand products by the end of 2023. Three months later, in April, it became the first supermarket in the…

IPCC report row: getting to the meat of the matter

All summer long debate has raged about a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and its apparent advocacy of lower-meat diets. With some predicting the eruption of a full-blown culture war, Nick Hughes unpicks what the report actually says and the implications for food businesses. Let’s cut to the chase. Does the…

Review raises nutrition standards for public sector pie

A government review of nutritional standards for public sector food will cause caterers to miss out on lucrative contracts unless they up their game, writes Nick Hughes. Caterers looking to grab a slice of the £2bn public sector food market will soon have to raise their game on healthy food provision. Earlier this month, the…

Did you know that feeding seaweed to cattle and sheep can significantly cut the emissions of the greenhouse gas methane – a by-product of the animals’ burping? Nick Hughes explains… Hang on a minute, I’ve been ordering crispy seaweed for years in my Chinese takeaway…..Actually, you’ve probably been eating deep-fried spring greens, although in any…

Plastic pollution health risks: we need to know more, says WHO

Microplastics in drinking water “don’t appear to pose a health risk” at current levels but there are a number of “gaps” in the research, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). “Quality-assured toxicological data are needed on the most common forms of plastic particles relevant for human health risk assessment,” WHO noted in its new…

Unpacking the problem with life cycle analyses

Companies are desperate to understand which packaging materials have the lowest environmental impact, but are life cycle analyses being manipulated and misused to present skewed results? By David Burrows Huhtamaki’s new life cycle analysis (LCA) research comparing different types of cups makes some pretty bold claims. This one in particular stands out: “In most everyday…

‘Frankenfish’ – will buyers take the bait?

David Burrows looks at whether consumers in the US and Europe are ready to take the leap and purchase genetically engineered salmon now that it’s a commercial reality. Would you eat salmon that has been genetically engineered to grow faster on less food? That is the question US consumers will soon be asking themselves as…

A public health green paper destined for the trash?

Nick Hughes analyses whether the latest proposals to reduce childhood obesity will ever be enacted given they are part of a green paper published on the quiet before Boris Johnson became PM. It’s a tried and tested tactic in politics to choose July or August to publish a document you hope will garner little attention.…

Responding to a recent Footprint story on the problems with compostable packaging, David Newman, of the Bio-based and Biodegradable Industries Association, argues that it has an important role to play. Footprint does a great job of exposing flaws in our food, packaging and waste systems. Last month it targeted compostable packaging, but I think some…