Category Archives: Food & drink industry

Co-op and Aldi champagnes beat Veuve Clicquot in Which? taste test

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Top-scoring supermarket fizz costs less than half of the price of its prestigious competitor

Money might be tight this Christmas but there is good news for champagne lovers after much cheaper supermarket own brands fared better than the prestigious French label Veuve Clicquot in a quaff test.

The Co-op’s Les Pionniers champagne received the top score of 85% in a blind taste test conducted by Which? with the £22.75-a-bottle bubbly wowing the panel with its “smoky notes” and “smooth creaminess”.

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US health officials warn of fruit pouches tainted with lead after 22 toddlers fall ill

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WanaBana, Schnucks and Weis fruit puree recalled as reported symptoms include headache, vomiting and diarrhea

US health officials are warning doctors to be on the lookout for possible cases of lead poisoning in children after at least 22 toddlers in 14 states were sickened by lead linked to tainted pouches of cinnamon apple puree and applesauce.

Children ages one to three were affected, and at least one child showed a blood lead level eight times higher than the level that raises concern, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

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Premature death of 80m chickens raises concerns over UK’s fast-growing breeds

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Animal welfare groups urge retailers to switch to slow-growing birds in face of record deaths last year

More than 80 million chickens died before reaching slaughter weight in the UK last year, with mortality rates the highest for at least a decade, reveal official figures.

Animal welfare organisations say the fast-growing chicken breeds that dominate production have higher mortality rates, lameness and muscle disease than slower-growing breeds. They are calling on retailers to switch to slower-growing breeds and provide more space for the birds.

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Colombia passes ambitious ‘junk food law’ to tackle lifestyle diseases

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The Latin American country is one of the first in the world to introduce a health tax targeting ultra-processed foods

A new law in Colombia making it one of the first countries in the world to explicitly tax ultra-processed food has been hailed by campaigners and health experts who say it could set an example for other countries.

After years of campaigning, the “junk food law” came into force this month and a levy will be introduced gradually. An additional tax on affected foods will begin at 10% immediately, rising to 15% next year and reaching 20% in 2025.

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Drop in Latin American drinking prompts Diageo to issue profits warning

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Shares fall in world’s largest spririts company as consumers seek cheaper brands

The Guinness to Johnnie Walker drinks maker Diageo has issued a profit warning as a result of cash-strapped customers in Latin America and the Caribbean consuming less alcohol and seeking cheaper brands.

Shares in the world’s largest spirits company plunged more than 11% in early trading on Friday, making it the biggest faller in the FTSE 100, as investors worried that the trend in the region might spread to other markets.

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Panera adds warnings about caffeinated lemonade after suit over student’s death

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Family sued after Sarah Katz died last year after drinking Charged Lemonade, apparently unaware of soda’s high caffeine content

Panera Bread restaurants have displayed new warnings about its highly caffeinated lemonade, days after a lawsuit filed by the family of a university student who died after drinking the beverage.

Sarah Katz, an Ivy League student with a congenital heart condition, died last year just hours after drinking Panera’s Charged Lemonade, having apparently been unaware of the soda’s extremely highly caffeine content, according to the wrongful death suit.

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Waitrose in talks with Amazon over online grocery deal, says report

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Supermarket said to be considering third-party deal after share of UK market falls

Waitrose is reportedly in talks with Amazon to sell groceries via the internet marketplace, in an attempt to lure in more shoppers and claw back market share.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that the upmarket supermarket, part of the John Lewis Partnership, and Amazon were discussing a third-party deal, after the world’s biggest online retailer struck a similar agreement with the supermarket Iceland recently.

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Wetherspoon’s returns to profit for first time since Covid pandemic

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Cost of living crisis drives consumers to low-cost pub chain but company remains cautious

JD Wetherspoon has bounced back to profit for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic three years ago, as budget-conscious consumers flocked to the low-cost pub chain amid the cost of living crisis.

Wetherspoon’s, which runs about 830 pubs across the UK and Ireland, reported a pre-tax profit of almost £43m in the year to 30 July.

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Greggs keeps prices on hold as sales leap and it opens new shops

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Britain’s biggest bakery chain says cost inflation is easing, although staff costs are rising

Greggs, Britain’s biggest bakery chain, said it had no plans to raise its prices before Christmas after its cost inflation eased, as sales soared over the last three months.

The retailer raised its prices in June, when some products went up by 5-10p.

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Europe’s olive oil supply running out after drought – and the odd hailstorm

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Heatwaves around Mediterranean have damaged harvests and forced producers to import from South America

Europe has almost run out of local olive oil supplies and is set for more shortages, after extreme weather damaged harvests for a second year.

The world’s largest producer has said it is having to import supplies from South America to keep up with demand.

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Unilever to make payments to Kenyan tea pickers over 2007 plantation attacks

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UK law firm Leigh Day says money given to 77 workers for murders and rapes ‘sidesteps’ multinational’s responsibility over attack

Unilever is to make payments to 77 tea pickers who worked on one of its plantations in Kenya that was targeted during post-election violence in 2007.

The UK law firm Leigh Day, representing the workers, said the London-based consumer goods multinational had agreed to make voluntary, or ex-gratia, payments to former workers at its subsidiary Unilever Tea Kenya, who were attacked by armed assailants at its plantation in Kericho.

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Calls for Starbucks boycott grow amid aggressive union-busting activities

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Boycott would aim to use consumer power to pressure company to negotiate its first union contract

Calls for a consumer boycott of Starbucks are growing amid mounting criticism of the coffee chain’s aggressive union-busting activities.

A boycott, supporters say, would aim to use consumer power to pressure Starbucks to stop its union-busting and illegal actions and to finally negotiate its first union contract.

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Costa Coffee recalls sandwiches and wraps amid fears they contain stones

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Retailer warns there may be ‘small stones’ in four products from its range and urges customers to return them for refund

Costa Coffee has recalled some of its range of sandwiches and wraps after it emerged that they could contain small stones.

The chain warned customers that four of its products could be affected, and that they could pose a choking hazard if they were eaten.

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Retailers look on sunny side as holidaymakers splash out

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Sales of health and beauty products help high street stores bounce back after a disappointing start to the summer

Britain’s retailers have received a boost from consumers making themselves beach-ready by increasing their spending on skincare and makeup before their summer holidays, despite the cost of living crisis.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said sales of health and beauty products helped drive up spending on the high street as shoppers made the most of brief spells of sunshine in August, although squeezed consumers were holding back elsewhere.

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Vietnamese collector revealed as buyer of world’s biggest bottle of whisky

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Viet Nguyen Dinh Tuan bought 311-litre bottle of 32-year-old Macallan single malt for £1.1m at auction

The previously anonymous buyer of the world’s largest bottle of whisky, which at 5ft 11in is taller than the average human, has been revealed as a Vietnamese businessman who already owns a spirits collection valued at more than £150m.

Viet Nguyen Dinh Tuan bought the 311-litre bottle filled with 32-year-old Macallan single malt for £1.1m at auction in Edinburgh last year.

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Ultra-processed food raises risk of heart attack and stroke, two studies show

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Research presented to annual meeting of European Society of Cardiology prompts calls for action

Ultra-processed food significantly raises the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes, according to two studies that one expert says should serve as a wake-up call for governments worldwide.

Global consumption of heavily processed items such as cereals, protein bars, fizzy drinks, ready meals and fast food has soared in recent years. In the UK and US, well over half the average diet now consists of ultra-processed food (UPF). For some, especially people who are younger, poorer or from disadvantaged areas, a diet comprising as much as 80% UPF is typical.

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Heineken exits Russia with €1 sale of operations

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Dutch multinational brewer takes €300m loss from transfer of assets to Russia’s Arnest Group

Heineken has completed its lengthy exit from Russia with the sale of its operations there for a symbolic €1, after Moscow clamped down on asset sales in retaliation for western sanctions.

The Dutch brewer, which also owns the Amstel, Birra Moretti and Tiger brands, said it would be taking a €300m loss as a result of the sale, which will see it transfer all of its remaining assets, including seven breweries, to Russia’s Arnest Group.

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France to spend €200m on destroying excess wine as demand falls

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Fund aims to help struggling winemakers as they adjust to consumers’ changing habits

The French government has announced it is to set aside €200m to fund the destruction of surplus wine production in an attempt to support struggling producers and shore up prices.

Several major wine-producing regions in France, particularly the Bordeaux area, are struggling because of a cocktail of problems including changes in consumption habits, the cost of living crisis and the after-effects of Covid-19.

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Boots baby formula ads on Google broke rules, says UK watchdog

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Retailer apologises for error, with such advertising banned in case it discourages breastfeeding

Online adverts for Boots for four infant formula products broke advertising rules designed to protect breastfeeding, the advertising watchdog has found.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) made the ruling in response to a complaint that the health and beauty retailer’s infant formula products had been advertised on Google.

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‘It all disappeared with Brexit’: Craft beer boom ends as more than 100 UK firms go bust

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New trade barriers were compounded by Covid and tax changes

Kimi Karjalainen and his brother Marko poured their life savings into Bone Machine Brewing Co when it opened in Pocklington, East Yorkshire, in 2017 before moving to Hull, as part of the craft beer revolution that swept Britain.

“The entire investment, not including time and labour that we gave for free, was about £70,000,” Karjalainen said. Four weeks ago, it was gone. “That was my parents’ retirement.”

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