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.

Footprint trends 2019: fake steak is heading for your plate

Forget the lab-built burger, now it’s all about cultured steak, says David Burrows. In recent years, millions of pounds have been ploughed into developing meat products that don’t require any animals to be slaughtered. The big meat processors have also made “strategic” investments in this area of food tech. “The prototypes are incredibly compelling,” Liz…

Why campaigners are trying to make animal feed a mainstream issue in 2019. By Nick Hughes. Ask your average restaurant diner what they think about the feed behind their food and there’s a fair chance you’ll be greeted with a blank expression. Ask the same question in 12 months’ time and the hope is the…

Analysis: No more sweeping waste under the carpet

A new strategy suggests the government is finally getting tough on food businesses. By Nick Hughes. Is the government about to get tough on food waste? There was plenty of posturing to that effect in the recently published Waste and Resources Strategy, which sets out the government’s plans to preserve resources by minimising waste, promoting…

Obesity targets missed but companies have “stepped up”

No country is on track to achieve the adult obesity target, with 39% of the world’s adults overweight or obese and 43.7% of children drinking soda every day, according to a new report. Now in its fifth edition, the Global Nutrition Report tracks country progress against nine of the global nutrition targets. It is the…

Glass half full: M&S puts the green in greengrocer

Retailer ditches plastic punnets and best-before dates while Scotland gets its first plastic-free grocer. By Nick Hughes. One month into 2019 and plastic still dominates the sustainability agenda. With the majority of initiatives focused on switching to more sustainable packaging alternatives, Marks & Spencer has taken a more retro step by introducing trained greengrocers into…

Plastics Package Let’s talk about reduction

Straws and stirrers are the low hanging fruit ministers want to forbid, but industry must go further. David Burrows reports from the FPA environment seminar. I arrived at last week’s Foodservice Packaging Association environment seminar hoping to be inspired, but I left dejected. First off, my reusable cup went missing. Perhaps that was my fault…

Footprint trends: time for radical sustainability

The era of box-ticking measures is dead. Instead of placating shareholders, companies are tackling issues head-on, says Ramon Arratia. The world order of corporate sustainability is changing – and changing fast. No longer are businesses content with their old stakeholder sedation strategies, appeasing potential critics with tick-box exercises, ratings-based league tables and sustainability reports. Now…

PLASTICS PACKAGE: unpicking the resources & waste strategy

The government’s new proposals look amazing on paper, however the deadlines are hardly pressing and the concept of reducing consumption is conspicuous only by its absence. By David Burrows. Our energy resources may have been depleted by a hectic year of proposals, press releases and policies on the subject of plastics, but fuelled by cold…

Political Print: on the brink of Brexit crisis

MPs’ rejection of May’s EU deal leaves the food industry facing disaster with time running out. By Nick Hughes. In the lead-up to Tuesday’s momentous vote businesses were united by one wish: to have certainty about the Brexit endgame. After the crushing rejection by MPs of Theresa May’s deal, the only certainty now is that…

We check out Tesco’s new green shopping basket

The supermarket is working with WWF to cut the environmental impact of the average shop – but it’s a complicated job. By David Burrows. What’s new? Tesco and WWF have announced they are working together to reduce the environmental impact of the average UK shopping basket by 50%. The project will run for four years as…