Brexit supporter calls for new chancellor to ‘rectify tax inequality’ in hospitality industry
Tim Martin, the politically outspoken boss of the JD Wetherspoon pub chain, has praised the new Labour chancellor’s economic “pedigree”, as he called for tax changes to help the struggling hospitality sector.
Martin regularly publishes economic and political commentary alongside his company’s results and has previously voiced support for Brexit and Boris Johnson.
Continue reading...For UK consumers the cost of beans could increase by up to 25% over the coming year
The price of coffee is set to remain “very high” and is unlikely to drop until the middle of next year amid intense pressure on supply chains, the Italian coffee company Lavazza has said.
“We have never seen such a spike in price as the trend right now,” said Giuseppe Lavazza, who chairs the company. He admitted that he had been wrong to predict last year that prices would begin to fall this year. On Monday, prices reached $4,300 (£3,356) a tonne.
Continue reading...Ministry will discuss investigation into claims that European producers are selling goods below market rates
China has ramped up its anti-dumping investigation into European brandy imports in what appears to be a retaliatory move as the EU imposed higher tariffs on imports of Chinese electric vehicles from Friday.
The commerce ministry in Beijing said it would hold a hearing on 18 July to discuss an investigation into claims that European brandy producers are selling products in China below market rates.
Continue reading...Investment bank Stephens hired to find suitors for business, which wants to expand overseas operations
The high-end steakhouse chain Hawksmoor has been put up for sale in a deal that could value it at about £100m.
The restaurant chain has hired the investment bank Stephens to start looking for potential suitors for the business, which is hoping to expand its overseas operation.
Continue reading...Law firm’s case against six Norwegian-owned fish companies is over alleged breaches of competition law
A legal firm is seeking £382m on behalf of British consumers from some of the world’s largest salmon producers, which are accused of price fixing.
Legal action filed this week at the Competition Appeal Tribunal said UK consumers overpaid for at least four years because of alleged breaches of competition law by the fish firms Mowi and its subsidiary Mowi Holdings, SalMar, Lerøy, Scottish Sea Farms and Grieg.
Continue reading...Food Foundation says height of five-year-olds falling, child obesity up by a third and type 2 diabetes by a fifth
Children across the UK are getting shorter, fatter and sicker amid an epidemic of poor diets, food insecurity and poverty, according to a report warning that millions are facing a “timebomb” of avoidable health conditions.
The average height of five-year-olds is falling, obesity levels have increased by almost a third and the number of young people being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes has risen by more than a fifth, the report by the Food Foundation said.
Continue reading...Plant-based food company This has not detected E coli in the wrap but is concerned about possible contamination
A third sandwich and wrap manufacturer has recalled one of its products after an E coli outbreak that has left 67 people in hospital and more than 200 in total seriously ill.
On Sunday evening the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said This had “taken the precautionary step of recalling its This Isn’t Chicken and Bacon wrap because of possible contamination with E coli”.
Continue reading...Ruling by European court of justice ends 17-year legal tussle between Irish chain and global rival
The small Irish takeaway chain Supermac’s has won a David v Goliath court battle with McDonald’s over the use of the Big Mac trademark, paving the way for it to open outlets across Europe.
The ruling also means the US-founded fast food multinational has lost the right to use the name “Big Mac” in the EU in relation to chicken burgers.
Continue reading...Global industry ‘in crisis’ as fears about Brazilian harvest help push wholesale prices to record highs
Orange-juice makers are considering turning to alternative fruits such as mandarins as wholesale prices have “gone bananas” amid fears of poor harvests in Brazil.
Prices of the citrus drink reached a new high of $4.95 (£3.88) a lb on commodity markets this week after growers in the main orange producing areas of Brazil said they were expecting the harvest to be 24% down on last year at 232m 40.8-kg boxes – worse than the 15% fall previously predicted.
Continue reading...Due to new import controls, a judging session for the Great Taste awards is being held outside the UK for the first time in 30 years
The Great Taste awards are a British success story – the world’s largest food awards, celebrating the best products on the planet. But new post-Brexit import controls have forced the organisers to hold a judging panel outside the UK for the first time in the awards’ 30-year history.
On Sunday, judges from the Guild of Fine Foods panel will travel to County Tipperary in Ireland to spend three days tasting products that have become much harder to bring to the UK.
Continue reading...Lorries carrying meat, cheese and cut flowers held up by new checks, with retailers rejecting some orders
Lorries carrying perishable food and plants from the EU are being held for up to 20 hours at the UK’s busiest Brexit border post as failures with the government’s IT systems delay imports entering Britain.
Businesses have described the government’s new border control checks as a “disaster” after IT outages led to lorries carrying meat, cheese and cut flowers being held for long periods, reducing the shelf life of their goods and prompting retailers to reject some orders.
Continue reading...No longer just drunk for courage at karaoke clubs, the ‘food-friendly’ rice spirit is becoming a first choice of connoisseurs
When sommelier Erika Haigh opened the UK’s first independent sake bar, in London’s West End in 2019, passersby would wander in and try to order milkshakes, bewildered by the unfamiliar drink advertised in the window.
“Today, that confusion has largely disappeared,” said Haigh, who has since opened Mai Sake, a shop offering tasting events and meals. “You can now go on a sake bar crawl across London, and you’ll find it featured on the beverage lists of many restaurants – including non-Japanese establishments.”
Continue reading...Price rise for mass-market types expected as global production falls to lowest level in more than 10 years
Olive oil prices are set to climb further this year – heading to more than £16 a litre for a bottle of extra virgin – amid a drop in global production to the lowest level in more than a decade.
Lower production in Greece, Morocco and Turkey as part of the natural cycle of olive growth is expected to offset an improving situation in Spain and Italy, where trees have suffered from extreme heat and drought in recent years as the climate crisis wreaks havoc on harvests.
Continue reading...Fish welfare campaigners say Defra decision facilitates greenwashing and will mislead consumers
Animal welfare campaigners are challenging the decision to allow producers of Scottish salmon to drop the word “farmed” from labelling.
An application by the industry body claimed changing the protected name wording on the front of packaging from “Scottish farmed salmon” to “Scottish salmon” made sense because wild salmon was no longer sold in supermarkets, which consumers were aware of.
Continue reading...Union cites extreme wet weather and post-Brexit phasing-out of EU subsidies as main reasons for slump
Farmers’ confidence has hit its lowest level in at least 14 years, a long-running survey by the biggest farming union in Britain has found, with extreme weather and the post-Brexit phasing-out of EU subsidies blamed for the drop.
The National Farmers’ Union warned there had been a “collapse of confidence” and that the outlook was at its lowest since the annual poll of its members in England and Wales began in 2010.
Continue reading...Businesses say fees for Dover inspections are much higher than first thought and will push up shop prices
Importers of food from the EU into Britain have said newly introduced post-Brexit checks could increase their costs by up to 60%, pushing up prices for customers and driving some shops out of business.
After five previous delays, the UK government on Tuesday introduced the physical checks on animal and plant products entering from the EU, having revealed at the start of this month that it would be implementing a common user charge (CUC) of up to £145 per consignment.
Continue reading...The Italian city’s attempt to help its sleep-deprived residents is denounced as a step too far
Milan’s leaders have been accused of waging war against ice-cream in their bid to combat “wild nightlife” in the northern Italian city.
Marco Granelli, the deputy mayor for public security, recently announced a proposal banning the sale of takeaway food after midnight in the city’s popular nightlife districts.
Continue reading...Company, which also makes Quality Street, says reducing sugar, salt and fats could harm ‘strategic freedom’
Nestlé faces a resolution at its AGM on Thursday that could force the world’s largest consumer goods company to cut back on high levels of salt, sugar and fats in its food and drinks.
The Swiss-headquartered multinational is urging investors to reject the proposal, arguing a move away from “indulgent products” could harm its “strategic freedom”.
Continue reading...Swiss food firm’s infant formula and cereal sold in global south ignore WHO anti-obesity guidelines for Europe, says Public Eye
Nestlé, the world’s largest consumer goods company, adds sugar and honey to infant milk and cereal products sold in many poorer countries, contrary to international guidelines aimed at preventing obesity and chronic diseases, a report has found.
Campaigners from Public Eye, a Swiss investigative organisation, sent samples of the Swiss multinational’s baby-food products sold in Asia, Africa and Latin America to a Belgian laboratory for testing.
Continue reading...Owner of Al Condominio in Verona says response to the initiative during meals has been very positive
An Italian restaurant is offering a free bottle of wine to customers who relinquish their mobile phones during meals.
Angelo Lella, the owner of Al Condominio, a restaurant that opened in the northern city of Verona in March, said the aim was to encourage diners chat to each other instead of constantly glancing at their phones.
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