Category Archives: Food

UK bans German meat and dairy products after foot-and-mouth case

Posted on by

Import of pork, lamb and beef as well as live cattle, sheep and pigs suspended amid outbreak near Berlin

Britain has banned imports of German pork, lamb, beef and dairy products to prevent foot-and-mouth disease spreading to the UK after a case of the disease was confirmed last Friday on the outskirts of Berlin.

As well as prohibiting imports of ham, bacon, salami and cheese, the measure bans the import of live cattle, sheep and pigs, along with other animals which are susceptible to foot-and-mouth. No health certificates will be issued by Britain for fresh meat from Germany.

Continue reading...

Calls to halt kangaroo culling in Victoria’s Grampians after bushfires

Posted on by

Australian mainland states permit killing of nearly 5 million annually as part of industry supplying meat and leather products

Wildlife advocates are calling for a halt to the commercial harvesting of kangaroos in Victoria’s Grampians region after bushfires there.

Wildlife Victoria warned of “long-term impacts” on native plants and animals due to the fires, which burned through 76,000 hectares of national park and farmland, and called for a stop to the controversial practice until the impact on kangaroo populations could be fully assessed.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

UK faces broccoli and cauliflower shortage this spring

Posted on by

Growers blame weather challenges in UK and Europe, which Met Office says will become more frequent with climate breakdown

Broccoli, cauliflower and other brassicas may be in short supply this spring as the mild autumn and winter has caused the crops to come up early, growers have said.

Any shortages will prolong the so-called “hungry gap”, which runs from April to early June, when very few crops are grown in the UK.

Continue reading...

FDA issues new guidelines to reduce lead levels in baby foods

Posted on by

Guidelines for food manufacturers are voluntary and cover packaged processed food for children under two years old

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued some new voluntary guidelines for baby food manufacturing companies in an effort to reduce levels of lead in some processed baby foods.

The new guidelines state that baby food manufacturers should include no more than 10 parts per billion (ppb) of lead in foods such as yoghurt, custard, pudding and a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains and meats. For single-ingredient root vegetables and dry cereals, the guideline is set at no more than 20ppb.

Continue reading...

Humbled pie thieves ditch Yorkshire chef’s food-laden van in Middlesbrough

Posted on by

Tommy Banks says £25,000 of stock, which included 2,500 pies bearing his name, was ‘not really very saleable’

A van that which was stolen containing 2,500 pies has been found abandoned, although inquiries are continuing into the fate of its contents.

The Michelin-starred chef Tommy Banks had appealed to thieves to “do the right thing” and give the van’s contents, which also included custard and gravy, to people in need.

Continue reading...

Typhoo Tea bought out of administration for £10m

Posted on by

Vapes and batteries maker Supreme acquires collapsed 121-year-old tea company

The historic tea brand Typhoo has been bought out of administration by the vapes and batteries maker Supreme in a £10m rescue deal.

The company filed to appoint administrators last Wednesday, risking the future of the 121-year-old brand.

Continue reading...

‘We live on Pot Noodles’: rickets hits homeless families with no kitchen

Posted on by

Families placed in hotels in England are being forced to live on snack foods, putting young people’s health at risk

Homeless children placed in hotels are developing rickets and other diet-related health problems because their parents lack anywhere to cook.

The Magpie Project, which works with homeless mothers in the east London borough of Newham, where more households are living in temporary accommodation than anywhere in the country, said families living in hotels were eating an unhealthy diet of takeaways and snack foods because they had no cooking facilities or anywhere to store fresh produce.

Continue reading...

Beekeepers halt honey awards over ‘huge fraud’ in global supply chain

Posted on by

Warnings that genuine products are bulked out with cheaper sugar syrup prompt international congress to withdraw prizes

The World Beekeeping Awards will not award a prize for honey next year after warnings of widespread fraud in the global supply chain.

Apimondia, the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations, says it will showcase honey from around the world at its congress in Denmark, but for the first time make no awards for the product.

Continue reading...

Crypto entrepreneur eats banana art he bought for $6.2m

Posted on by

Conceptual work created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan was sold at auction in New York last week

The cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun has fulfilled a promise he made after spending $6.2m (£4.88m) on an artwork featuring a banana duct-taped to a wall – by eating the fruit.

At one of Hong Kong’s priciest hotels, Sun, 34, chomped down on the banana in front of dozens of journalists and influencers after giving a speech hailing the work as “iconic” and drew parallels between conceptual art and cryptocurrency.

Continue reading...

Smithfield meat market to close for good after relocation plans voted down

Posted on by

City of London Corporation rejects plan for new Dagenham site and will offer traders about £300m in compensation

London’s historic Smithfield meat market is to close for good after the City of London Corporation voted to pull out of plans to relocate it and Billingsgate fish market to Dagenham.

The corporation, which owns and operates the central London site of the centuries-old market, had earlier this month put on hold relocation plans to a new £1bn site in Dagenham, east London, to review the “financial sustainability” of the planned move.

Continue reading...

Nine people hospitalized in listeria outbreak linked to South Carolina food processor

Posted on by

A woman in California also lost a fetus from the disease that US health officials have linked to Yu Shang Food Inc

A listeria outbreak linked to ready-to-eat meat and poultry products from a South Carolina food processor has caused 11 illnesses in four states, with nine hospitalizations, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A woman who was pregnant with twins was also sickened. Both of the fetuses died, but listeria was found in a sample from only one.

Continue reading...

Spain’s floods force some UK sellers to buy oranges from southern hemisphere

Posted on by

British suppliers source from South Africa and South America as Spanish farmers struggle to harvest and ship

Some British retailers and wholesalers have been forced to switch to sourcing oranges from South Africa and South America early after last month’s catastrophic floods in eastern Spain left farmers struggling to harvest and ship their crops.

Companies in the UK have moved to buying fruit from the southern hemisphere several weeks earlier than in a typical year to prevent gaps emerging on supermarket shelves and amid fears over the quality of Spanish produce.

Continue reading...

UK environment secretary vows to ensure farmers are paid fairly for produce

Posted on by

Steve Reed says he may not agree on inheritance tax changes but government will listen to rural Britain

The UK environment secretary has promised to reform the food system to ensure farmers are paid fairly for the food they produce, after many filled the streets of Westminster to campaign against inheritance tax changes.

Speaking at the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) conference, Steve Reed said: “I heard the anguish of the countryside on the streets of London earlier this week. We may not agree over the inheritance tax changes, but this government is determined to listen to rural Britain and end its long decline.”

Continue reading...

Gaza food production ‘decimated’ with 70% of farmland hit, UN finds

Posted on by

Israeli attacks have destroyed huge areas of land used for crops, with 90% of cattle killed, analysis shows

More than 90% of cattle have died and about 70% of land for crops in Gaza has been destroyed or damaged since the beginning of the war in the territory, an analysis of satellite imagery by the UN has found.

More than half of sheep and goat herds have been wiped out, while more than three-quarters of the territory’s famous orchards have been destroyed or damaged, the survey in September found.

Continue reading...

One dead and dozens infected in E coli outbreak linked to organic carrots in US

Posted on by

California-based Grimmway Farms recalls carrots amid 39 reported illnesses in 18 states, including 15 hospitalizations

A California-based farm is recalling its carrots, including whole and baby organic carrots, following an E coli outbreak that has infected multiple people across the country.

In a statement on Saturday, Grimmway Farms in Bakersfield said that it has issued its recall of the carrots “that should no longer be in grocery stores but may be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers”. The recall comes amid 39 reported E coli infections across 18 states, including 15 hospitalizations and one death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Continue reading...

Swedes left longing for sweets as viral TikTok starts craze for candy

Posted on by

The tradition of chomping through a kilo of sweets once a week is under threat as demand soars for sugary sweets

Swedes love sweets. So when an American TikToker sparked a craze for Swedish candy this year, there was pride that an important part of national culture was being recognised around the world. The Danes may have Ozempic but the Swedes have lördagsgodis – Saturday sweets – where families chew through more than 1kg of sticky treats in an evening.

That pride has given way to some irritation. Supplies of some Swedish sweets ran dry in the autumn due to the high demand in the US, South Korea and in Scandinavia. And there was another factor, an equally important Swedish tradition: the six-week summer holiday.

Continue reading...

Tesco’s £25 champagne beats Moët & Chandon in festive taste test

Posted on by

Supermarket fizz bursts the prestigious French label’s bubble in blind tastings by consumer group Which?

Champagne at prosecco prices? Every little helps. Tesco’s Finest champagne has triumphed over the prestigious French label Moët & Chandon in a festive quaff test.

The Tesco Finest premier cru brut champagne received the top score of 82% in a blind taste test conducted by the consumer group Which?. The £25-a-bottle bubbly was hailed by judges for its “nutty aroma and fresh, fruity flavours”. The supermarket fizz beat Moët & Chandon, which scored 77% and at £44 is almost twice as expensive.

Continue reading...

Markets and farm shops among targets of organised crime gangs, say experts

Posted on by

Smoked salmon, artisan cheese and fine wine among food and drink lost by European outlets

Small food producers are increasingly being targeted by organised crime gangs and rogue industry insiders looking to exploit national and global supply chain challenges , according to food crime experts.

The warning comes after several food businesses in the UK and continental Europe revealed how they had lost hundreds of thousands of pounds in scams where thieves apparently posed as legitimate buyers.

Continue reading...

‘Africa in a glass’: Abidjan cocktail week mixes local flavours for global palates

Posted on by

Ivory Coast drinks festival aims to champion and change perceptions of alcohol made in the region

At an event in Abidjan in late October, Alexandre Quest Bede noticed someone staring at him. Then the stranger walked up to him with a T-shirt and asked for an autograph.

“He pointed at me excitedly and said: ‘You’re Monsieur Gnamakou, I know you from Instagram!’” recalls Bede at the poolside bar of Bissa, a boutique hotel in the upmarket Deux Plateaux neighbourhood on the eve of Abidjan cocktail week.

Continue reading...

Tax unhealthy foods to tackle obesity, say campaigners

Posted on by

Health and children’s groups urge UK ministers to impose levies on products containing too much salt or sugar

Dozens of health and children’s groups have urged ministers to tackle obesity by imposing taxes on foods containing too much salt or sugar.

New levies based on the sugar tax on soft drinks would make it easier for consumers to eat more healthily by forcing food manufacturers to reformulate their products, they claim.

74% think food firms are not honest about the health impact of their products.

61% worry about the amount of sugar and saturated fat in what they eat.

Only 13% believe producers will make their food more nutritious without government intervention.

72% worry about high levels of processing used in food production.

Continue reading...