Category Archives: Food & drink industry

Co-op Group to cut 400 jobs at Manchester head office

Posted on by

The group blamed rising inflation for job losses as it vows to protect shoppers from higher prices

The Co-op Group is cutting 400 jobs at its head office in Manchester as the retailer said it faced tough trading conditions amid rising inflation.

The job cuts come after the Co-op, which employs more than 63,000 people including 4,000 at its head offices, warned in April of continuing problems with food supplies and inflation after its annual profits more than halved amid supply chain disruption and higher staff wages.

Continue reading...

UK inflation hits fresh 40-year high of 9.4% as fuel prices rise

Posted on by

Annual rate in June up from May’s 9.1% figure and exceeds analysts’ expectations

Rising petrol and diesel prices for motorists and dearer food pushed Britain’s annual inflation rate to a fresh 40-year high of 9.4% last month.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the government’s preferred measure of the cost of living – the consumer prices index – was up from May’s 9.1% figure.

Continue reading...

Northern Italy drought threatens olive oil, risotto rice and passata supplies

Posted on by

The region’s worst drought in 70 years is expected to hit crop yields significantly, driving up prices by as much as 50%

Supplies of olive oil, risotto rice and passata are under threat as northern Italy suffers its worst drought in 70 years, stirring up the cost of living crisis further.

Specialist importers are preparing for price rises of as much as 50% or more for rice and tomatoes and are considering looking for new sources of supply, after growers in the Po valley, the home of arborio rice used in risotto, warned of a “significant reduction” in crop yields this year.

Continue reading...

Bourbon dry: low spirits in New Zealand as bottle shops run out

Posted on by

Shipping delays and bottlenecks, along with rising popularity of hard liquor, cause shortage, accompanied by dip in chicken nugget stocks

As supply chain pressures and shipping delays are felt around the world, New Zealand is being hit by a nationwide dearth of bourbon, with shortages also hitting the craft beer and chicken nugget markets.

“It’s a pain all right,” said Neil, a worker at the Bottle-O store in Mt Eden. “There’s a shortage of bourbon at the moment. We can’t get anything from out of America, apparently.”

Continue reading...

UK retailers hit by sharp drop in spending as inflation soars

Posted on by

Boost in demand in June on back of jubilee celebrations fails to prevent third successive fall

Britain’s retailers are suffering the sharpest drop in spending since the depths of the coronavirus pandemic as hard-pressed consumers tighten their belts as a result of soaring inflation.

The monthly health check from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported a third successive drop in activity as the cost of living crisis continued to bite.

Continue reading...

Rising food prices hit every supermarket aisle putting pressure on low-income families

Posted on by

Soaring cost of produce in Australia has ‘exacerbated health inequality’ and leads researchers to call for farmers to be subsidised

The price of food has continued to rise, with new data showing that every supermarket aisle has been hit by hikes, not just fruit and vegetables.

The soaring prices have led researchers to call on the federal government to help subsidise growers, amid concerns it’s costing some lower socioeconomic families 40% of their income to buy a week’s worth of healthy food.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

‘They don’t care about us’: US Starbucks workers allege they were fired for union activity

Posted on by

Nine Colorado employees claim their dismissals came after an organizing campaign in response to safety concerns and pay problems

Nine Starbucks workers at three stores in Denver, Colorado, who were fired shortly after their stores voted to unionize allege they were dismissed in retaliation for union organizing at the American coffee chain giant.

The firings are among a few dozen cases around the US where workers have alleged they have been fired from the coffee retail chain during a union organizing campaign at their store. More than 180 Starbucks corporate retail stores in the US have voted to unionize, and more than 300 have filed for union elections.

Continue reading...

Hummus supplies to dip as weather and Ukraine war cause chickpea shortage

Posted on by

Drop in chickpea crop could have serious impact on countries such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan

Growers are warning of a global chickpea shortage, endangering supplies of hummus just as barbecue season gets into gear, in a development which could have serious consequences for countries that rely on the pulses as an essential source of protein.

Supplies of chickpeas could drop as much as 20% this year, according to the Global Pulse Confederation, as difficult weather conditions and the war in Ukraine hit production.

Continue reading...

‘How are we supposed to live?’: fast-food workers squeezed by inflation

Posted on by

Workers at big chains struggle to make ends meet as prices increase but their wages have not

Minerva Rodriguez has worked at McDonald’s in Houston, Texas, for more than 23 years. She is paid $12 an hour and says she is doing the work of two to three people because the restaurant is chronically understaffed. Now she, like many Americans, is facing another crisis: runaway inflation. And while she has noticed the food prices at her store have increased, pay has not.

“The wages are incredibly low and not sufficient for the work we do,” said Rodriguez, who joined the Fight for $15 and a union movement to push for higher wages and better working conditions. “They don’t want to lose that extra money. If they can have their present workers do double the job and not have to pay another worker it’s a benefit for them, but what happens with us? With food costs rising and gas prices rising, how are we supposed to live?”

Continue reading...

Singapore craft beer uses recycled sewage to highlight water scarcity

Posted on by

Collaboration between national water agency and craft brewer described as ‘highly quaffable’

It is a beer made with only the finest ingredients: premium German barley malts, aromatic Citra and Calypso hops, farmhouse yeast from Norway – and reclaimed sewage.

NewBrew, a collaboration between Singapore’s national water agency and the local craft brewery Brewerkz, has already proved popular and has sold out on tap at the brewery’s restaurants, according to reports.

Continue reading...

Salmonella halts production at world’s biggest chocolate factory

Posted on by

Contamination found at plant in Belgium run by Swiss group Barry Callebaut

Production has been halted in the world’s biggest chocolate plant, run by the Swiss group Barry Callebaut in Wieze, Belgium, after salmonella contaminations were found.

A company spokesman said production had been protectively halted at the factory, which produces liquid chocolate in wholesale batches for 73 clients making confectionaries.

Continue reading...

UK food price rises could hit 15% over summer, report says

Posted on by

Ukraine war, China lockdowns and Brexit help push up inflation, with products that rely on wheat worst hit

Food price rises in the UK could hit 15% this summer – the highest level in more than 20 years – with inflation lasting into the middle of next year, according to a report.

Meat, cereals, dairy, fruit and vegetables are likely to be the worst affected as the war in Ukraine combines with production lockdowns in China and export bans on key food stuffs such as palm oil from Indonesia and wheat from India, the grocery trade body IGD warns.

Continue reading...

US announces plan to build silos on Ukraine border to export grain

Posted on by

Joe Biden working with European governments to avert global crisis and help lower food prices

Temporary silos will be built along the Ukraine border, including in Poland, in an attempt to help export more grain from the country and avert a global food crisis, Joe Biden has announced.

The US president told a Philadelphia union convention on Tuesday that he was working with European governments on the plan “to help bring down food prices”.

Continue reading...

Fury as government waters down post-Brexit food standards

Posted on by

Strategy described as ‘missed opportunity’ as final wording merely commits to ‘considering’ animal welfare

Animal welfare campaigners, food policy experts and farmers have reacted with fury after the government watered down post-Brexit trade deal standards in its food strategy, released on Monday.

In a version of the strategy leaked to the Guardian on Friday, the government committed to making it easier for countries to import goods if they have high animal welfare standards.

Continue reading...

Food plan for England condemned by its own lead adviser

Posted on by

Henry Dimbleby says government’s response to his review of food system shows no vision and ‘is not a strategy’

The government’s lead adviser on food issues has condemned what ministers have billed as a landmark national plan to combat food poverty and obesity, saying it is “not a strategy” and warning it could mean more children will go hungry.

Henry Dimbleby’s verdict is further bad news for Boris Johnson as the white paper is a direct response to last year’s wide-ranging review of Britain’s food system, which was led by the restaurateur.

Continue reading...

‘A gift from God’: Binley Mega Chippy owner basks in TikTok fame

Posted on by

Kamal Gandhi, 70, and his Coventry chip shop became a sensation after its name was turned into a catchy song

It has been two weeks since his Coventry chip shop became a TikTok sensation drawing in crowds from around the country, and 70-year-old Kamal Gandhi is exhausted.

He has had to take on and train four new staff members, ensure a continuous supply of stock to deal with hundreds of new customers and help manage the long queues snaking down the road outside the now world famous Binley Mega Chippy.

Continue reading...

European fishing fleets accused of illegally netting tuna in Indian Ocean

Posted on by

Reports handed to EU claim vessels likely to have entered coastal states’ waters where stocks are dwindling

European fishing fleets have been illegally netting tuna from dwindling stocks in the Indian Ocean, according to data presented to EU authorities and analysed by expert groups.

EU purse seine (a type of large net) fishing vessels were present in the waters of Indian Ocean coastal states, where they were likely to have carried out unauthorised catches, and have reported catches in the Chagos archipelago marine protected area and in Mozambique’s exclusive economic zone.

Continue reading...

French dijon mustard supply hit by climate and rising costs, say producers

Posted on by

Poor seed harvests have led to empty shelves at supermarkets in France and global shortages

Climate change and rising costs are causing supermarkets in France to run out of dijon mustard, raising questions over whether the shortage could spread to other countries.

French mustard producers said seed production in 2021 was down 50% after poor harvests, which they said had been brought on by the changing climate in France’s Burgundy region and Canada – the second largest mustard seed producer in the world.

Continue reading...

Ukraine farming group calls for urgent end to ports blockade

Posted on by

Group warns of ‘cascade of export bans’ amid failure to ease grain bottlenecks fuelling shortages and inflation, MHP said

One of Ukraine’s largest farming groups has called for an urgent solution to unblock the country’s Black Sea ports as exports of grain, sunflower and rapeseed are being held up by the Russian naval blockade, driving inflation and shortages around the world.

G7 ministers have held urgent talks about trying to open routes through Romanian and Baltic ports, potentially fed with an army of 10,000 trucks making a five-day trip from Ukraine.

Continue reading...

EU to use ‘all measures at its disposal’ if UK abandons parts of Northern Ireland protocol – UK politics live

Posted on by

Latest updates: Maroš Šefčovič responds to Truss, saying EU keen to reach a settlement but stresses UK actions raise ‘significant concerns’

In the Commons the government chief whip, Chris Heaton-Harris, has just moved the writ for two forthcoming byelections - in Wakefield, and in Tiverton and Honiton.

Both byelections are expected to be held on Thursday 23 June - the sixth anniversary of the Brexit referendum.

Under pressure from some Conservative MPs, some of whom have been threatening to write letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson unless they get their way, ministers have retreated from banning “Buy One Get One Free” deals and from imposing a watershed of 9pm on junk food advertising. While some measures, such as rules on the positioning of unhealthy foods by retailers, will still go ahead in October, this U-turn adds to the long history of failed obesity strategies.

Humans evolved, when food was scarce, to indulge in calorie-dense foods if the opportunity arose. Now, the abundance of food and its particularly highly processed nature, which means we go on eating for a long time before feeling full, leads us to eat a lot of the wrong things. Food companies have an overwhelming incentive to design products that lead us ever further down this chemically induced addiction to foods that make us overweight, more prone to disease, and less able to work and enjoy life to the full. This is not freedom ...

Freedom is, most crucially, being free from oppression, violence or discrimination. But it is also the freedom of a child to skip and somersault; of an adult to enjoy running down a country lane or in a city park; of an old person to keep their quality of life until their final days ... These are the freedoms being denied to vast numbers of people who are the victims, not the free agents, in a system that wants to fill them up with salt, sugar and saturated fat.

It is therefore a terrible error to associate conservatism with a reluctance to protect people from their natural appetites being abused, in an industrial age for which they were not designed. If we could liberate more people from that fate, they could enjoy greater personal freedom and have some chance of a lighter tax burden.

MPs who have pressed, seemingly successfully, for the dilution of the obesity strategy are profoundly mistaken. They are acquiescing in a future of higher dependence, greater costs, reduced lifestyle choice and endless pain. For the government to give in to them is intellectually shallow, politically weak and morally reprehensible.

Continue reading...