Rise of 11.6% in October from 10.6% a month earlier comes as milk, teabags and sugar become more expensive
Food prices in the UK soared by 11.6% in October – the fastest rate on record – as staples such as teabags, milk and sugar became more expensive along with fresh food, data shows.
Annual food inflation rose from 10.6% in September, the latest monthly report from the British Retail Consortium and the data firm Nielsen showed.
Continue reading...Food blogger was played by Amy Adams in the film inspired by her memoir, about attempting to cook more than 500 Julia Child recipes in a year
Julie Powell, the food blogger best known for her cooking memoir, Julie & Julia, which inspired a film starring Meryl Streep, has died at the age of 49.
Her husband, Eric Powell, confirmed to the New York Times that she died of cardiac arrest caused by heart arrhythmia at their home in Olivebridge in upstate New York on 26 October.
Continue reading...Global heating is warming waters, changing salmon and tuna migration – and hurting fisheries
There is little at Shiogama seafood market to suggest that Japanese consumers could one day be deprived of their favourite seafood – from giant crab’s legs simmering in a winter nabe hotpot to spheres of salmon roe resting on a bed of rice wrapped in nori seaweed.
Stalls heave with huge sides of bluefin tuna, expertly transformed into more manageable portions by knife-wielding workers, while early-morning shoppers pause to inspect boxes of squid, flounder and sea pineapples landed only hours earlier.
Continue reading...Experts call for tighter regulations as tests find ethoxyquin exceeds maximum limits in Tassal and Petuna salmon
A fish feed additive banned in the European Union out of concerns for health impacts in animals and humans has been found in Tasmanian salmon at concerning levels, say experts who are calling for tighter regulations.
Dr Christian Narkowicz, an organic chemist, last year commissioned the National Measurement Institute to test salmon for residues of ethoxyquin.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter and afternoon email to get your daily news roundup
Continue reading...US assistant secretary of state says two countries have stopped creation of new protected areas in Antarctica ‘for too long’
The US has urged China and Russia to “get on side with conservation” and stop blocking nearly 4m sq km in new marine protected areas around Antarctica.
Speaking at a major international meeting on Antarctic conservation in Hobart, the US assistant secretary of state, Monica Medina, said the two countries had prevented the creation of three new protected areas in Antarctic waters “for too long” and it was time to “shake up the system”.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter and afternoon email to get your daily news roundup
Continue reading...Loblaw Companies says it will lock in prices of ‘no name’ amid looming parliamentary investigation into the food retail industry
Canada’s largest grocer has announced a price freeze on its low-cost product line, amid accusations of profiteering a worsening cost of living crisis – and a looming parliamentary investigation into the food retail industry.
Inflation figures on Wednesday showed that grocery prices in the country rose 11.4% over last month, continuing a surge not seen in more than four decades.
Continue reading...Scorching summer left reservoirs depleted and unlikely to recover, as growers warn of supply chain collapse in leaked meeting
Farmers have warned they will not be able to grow crops next year if predictions that the drought will last until next summer prove accurate.
Leaked slides from a national drought group meeting, seen by the Observer, show there are concerns that because reservoirs are still empty due to record dry conditions, the fruit and vegetable supply chain could collapse.
Continue reading...Rhinoceros-size Minnesota native wins big in California and will compete once more before being retired to stud
Growers from across the country descended on the California coast carrying with them some of the world’s most gargantuan pumpkins.
The giant pumpkin weigh-off, held annually ahead of Half Moon Bay’s pumpkin festival just south of San Francisco, is considered by competitors to be a Super Bowl of sorts in the unique sport, and the behemoths entered this year – some weighing as much as an average rhinoceros – did not disappoint.
Continue reading...Citizen scientists find high phosphorous levels in the soil could be polluting the river in Herefordshire
Campaigners have revealed the results of farmland testing which provides new evidence of the potential link between intensive poultry units and the decline of the River Wye.
Citizen scientists sampled farmland along public footpaths near a tributary to the river in Herefordshire. They discovered the soil with the highest levels of phosphorus, which can blight a river, were close to intensive poultry units.
Continue reading...Higher obesity risk linked to maternal diet of ultra-processed food is not affected by other lifestyle factors, US researchers say
Children of mothers who consume ultra-processed foods such as ready meals, sugary cereals and biscuits are more likely to grow up overweight or obese, a study suggests.
The link between a mother’s diet and her child’s obesity risk is independent of other lifestyle risk factors, including the child’s own consumption of ultra-processed food, according to the research. The findings are published in the BMJ.
Continue reading...As demand for honey slows after the pandemic, stockpiles far exceed the amount usually sold in a year
New Zealand is drowning in honey after a boom in beekeeping collided with slowing international demand to create towering stockpiles.
Over the past five years, global desire for mānuka honey and demand for home-based honey remedies during the pandemic helped push up prices, creating a kind of honey gold rush on New Zealand farms.
Continue reading...Burgundy insect farm ramps up production to offer a meat-free future
In a box-like building on an out-of-town industrial estate in Burgundy, trays of Alphitobius diaperinus – otherwise known as the lesser mealworm – are being fattened up by robots then cooked, dried and turned into protein-rich powder and oil.
This is the headquarters of Ÿnsect a French company that is building the world’s largest insect farm, to open at the end of the year in preparation for what the French company believes will be a large increase in demand for a healthy alternative to meat.
Continue reading...Chef Justin James combines native flavours and exotic botanics to create a 20-something-course menu
Adelaide’s Restaurant Botanic has won restaurant of the year at Gourmet Traveller’s annual awards night, which were announced in-person at a gala event on Tuesday, after being cancelled in 2020 and held online last year.
The restaurant, headed by chef Justin James and located in the middle of the South Australian capital’s botanic gardens, opened just 14 months ago after the gardens’ previous restaurant underwent a transformation. James uses plants from the surrounds, combining native flavours and more exotic botanics to create a 20-something-course menu that unfolds over at least four hours.
Continue reading...EU financial watchdog blames small fines and feeble controls in some states for amount of illegal seafood
Illegally fished seafood continues to end up on the plates of EU citizens due to weak controls and insignificant fines in some member states, auditors have found.
The European Union, the world’s largest importer of fishery products, requires member states to take action against fishing vessels and EU nationals engaged in illegal fishing activities anywhere in the world.
Continue reading...Annual Good Food Nation survey finds a fifth of Britons no longer turn on their oven to save money
Families have crossed Sunday roasts, stews and home baking off the menu and in drastic cases no longer use their oven, as soaring energy costs force big changes in the kitchen.
One in four home cooks said they were less likely to prepare a roast dinner, while a fifth were not baking as many cakes or biscuits, according to the annual Good Food Nation report.
Continue reading...Investigation reveals cattle raised on Mỹky territory ended up in global supply chain including food giant
On one side of the fence, in dense forest, the Mỹky people grow their crops: cassava, pequi and cabriteiro fruit. On the other side, ranchers raise cattle on devastated land. That land is the Mỹky’s, they say.
Xinuxi Mỹky, the village elder, says this region used to be a forest where different villages thrived. Only one now remains and the farms have cut into that land as well. “This pasture, where the whites live, was also our village, but now they are raising cattle. The land belonged to us: Indigenous peoples.”
Continue reading...Scottish producer Eden Mill made claims about ingredients on its Instagram and Facebook pages
An ad campaign for celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s new gin has been banned for making nutritional claims that are not allowed under UK marketing rules.
Ramsay, known for his restaurant empire and shows such as Kitchen Nightmares and Hell’s Kitchen, launched his first gin last year in partnership with the Scottish producer Eden Mill.
Continue reading...But environmental groups say changes could put sustainable producers at ‘front of queue’
Australian farmers are scrambling to understand the ramifications of new European laws on land-clearing, which could harm exports of products such as beef or paper under stricter environmental controls.
But environmental groups and some in the federal government believe the new laws could help Australian producers with more sustainable farming techniques get to “the front of the queue”, as negotiations continue for a free trade agreement with the European Union.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...Twelve restaurants received one star and one restaurant received two as Toronto becomes the first Canadian city to be featured
Toronto has finally sealed its reputation as an international culinary destination after 13 of its restaurants received Michelin stars for quality – the first time a Canadian city has ever featured in the prestigious guide.
Canada’s largest city has long been keen to compete on the world stage, and many residents were thrilled when the French publication announced in May it would include Toronto in its upcoming guide.
Continue reading...Pork costs in China, the world’s biggest consumer, rose an average of 22.5% last month
The price of Chinese pork surged to a new high in August, prompting authorities to take the year’s first dip into national meat reserves to ensure supply for the holidays.
Pork costs in China rose an average of 22.5% last month, compared with last year. It followed the highest recorded month-on-month increase of 25.6% in July, as CPI also hit a two-year high of 2.7%. August’s rise occurred despite an unexpected slowdown of CPI inflation to 2.5%.
Continue reading...