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.

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…

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…

Johnson’s actions speak louder than words

With there being little of substance to chew on in his first speech as the country’s PM, perhaps the key to understanding Boris Johnson’s intentions lies not in his rhetoric but in his appointments, writes Nick Hughes A Great British eccentric whose unique brand of chutzpah will secure a golden future for his country? Or…

Plastics Package: No time for toying around

This month’s package is committed to reduction (and is doing it for the kids) Schools have all shut up shop for the summer holidays, leaving many parents facing a rollercoaster six weeks of juggling childcare, work and the cost of ice cream on popular family days out. We have thus condensed this month’s Package. Puffery…

Eating Better targets 50% chop in meat consumption

The ambitious goal, to be achieved by 2030, would represent the most radical shift in diets since the Second World War, writes Nick Hughes From cutting sugar to ditching plastics, foodservice businesses are no strangers to being set demanding targets. But the latest call to action around meat reduction may be the most ambitious yet.…

“Trailblazer” councils receive £1.5m to tackle obesity

Restaurants and takeaways that improve menus and incentivise healthier options will be offered free waste removal and subsidised advertising rates. The trial, led by Blackburn with Darwen council, is one of a number of initiatives being funded and supported by the Department of Health and Social Care, the Local Government Association (LGA) and Public Health…

Plastic inaction may pose real risk to human health

Plastic pollution began as an environmental disaster with choking turtles and birds feeding their young on packaging. But it’s evolving into a public health crisis that food brands and regulators can no longer ignore. David Burrows reports. Last year’s Volvo Ocean Race lasted eight months and covered 45,000 nautical miles. En route, one of the…

Scottish Parliament burning compostable waste

The compostable packaging used in Scotland’s parliament building isn’t actually being composted, reports David Burrows. Compostable packaging, including hundreds of cups and burger boxes used across Scottish Parliament’s estate every day, is being incinerated rather than composted, Footprint understands. In 2011, the parliament switched to fully compostable cups and lids for takeaway coffees after an…

Footprint Investigation: Parliament burnt by compostable pledge

A Footprint investigation has discovered that large volumes of new compostable packaging from the Houses of Parliament are being sent for incineration due to shortcomings in the waste supply chain. By Nick Hughes. More than a year after UK Parliament first announced plans to switch to new compostable packaging, Footprint can reveal that none of…