New research has found that just five minutes exposure to junk food advertising is enough to persuade children to eat an extra 130 calories every day, reports The Telegraph. The study is the first to show that junk food adverts simply displaying a logo of a fast food company rather than images of food or drink itself were just as effective in persuading children to eat more.
Experts warned that the findings revealed a loophole in the government’s proposed ban on junk food TV adverts before 9pm, due to come into effect in October (The Guardian). Currently, brands will still be able to advertise to young people even without showing specific products.
Secret recordings obtained exclusively by The Mail on Sunday have revealed widespread animal abuse at a Cranswick-owned farm in Lincolnshire. Workers were filmed killing piglets by smashing them against hard floors and walls, a criminal offence known as ‘piglet thumping’. The footage, filmed over several weeks, also shows pigs being scratched, kneed, jabbed, as well as having their teeth ground down and tails cut – a practice called ‘docking’ which Cranswick claims it avoids. Responding to the findings, Cranswick said it had ordered an urgent investigation and had suspended farm staff.
Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons have all suspended supplies from the farm following the investigation (The Guardian).
Over in the US, beef prices are soaring to record highs as the country’s cattle inventory reaches its lowest level in more than 70 years, reports The FT. The average price of a pound of ground beef rose to $5.79 in US cities in March, a 12.8% increase in the past year and the most on record, according to labour department data. Inflation in beef was causing US consumers to switch to lower quality cuts or more affordable meats such as chicken, according to Tyson Foods, the US’ largest meatpacker
Newly formed Australian wine giant Vinarchy is eyeing opportunities for its brands to steal sales from American wine (The FT). Vinarchy, whose labels include Jacobs Creek in Canada, Campo Viejo in Spain, Hardy’s from Australia and Brancott Estate from New Zealand, expects to benefit from trade tensions between the US and its neighbours. Executive chair Ben Clarke said the merger of Accolade and Pernod Ricard’s wine brands put Vincarchy “in pole position” to navigate the challenges of weak demand and geopolitical tension faced by the wine industry.
Scotch whisky suppliers, meanwhile, are toasting the long-awaited arrival of a trade deal between the UK and India (The FT). High tariffs have previously prevented many smaller suppliers of gin and whisky from exporting to India. Their removal could provide an additional source of revenue thanks to India’s emerging middle class. Meanwhile, the removal of tariffs could also bolster earnings at whisky giants Diageo and Pernod Ricard, both of whom have seen shares sink in recent years amid a downturn in spirits sales in key global markets.
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