The government’s “moonshot” 10-year plan to revolutionise the NHS was the major news event of the week. However, there’s not been much focus so far by the mainstream press on the proposals for food and drink companies to play their part. Labour confirmed plans to implement mandatory health food sales by the end of the current parliament, as well as a longer-term plan for mandatory health sales targets. The delayed ban on multibuys on unhealthy products will also come into force, from October this year. The Grocer’s coverage of the plans, which also included updated regulations on alcohol labelling and proposed extensions to the Tobacco & Vapes Bill, is available here.
Given the new focus on health, it makes alarming reading that the UK-wide ban on disposable vapes appears to be “falling short” claims The FT, after its investigation found retailers are selling “near-identical” reusable versions of brands like Lost Mary, ElfBar and Geek Bar, for almost the same price. Single-use vapes have been illegal since 1 June, prompting manufacturers to launch a swathe of reusable alternatives.
The FT visited 50 convenience shops and vape stores in London and the south east of England, and found that stores stock new reusable devices at a “significantly higher rate than refills”, suggesting consumers are buying the devices repeatedly as single-use products. Refill pods were also in short supply, with two in five retailers not selling the refill cartridges. One-third of the shops visited still sold disposable vapes.
Will new measures proposed by Labour finally turn the tide in the fight against retail crime? Home secretary Yvette Cooper is mulling the establishment of a national database of retail crime, that will identify and ban prolific shoplifters, claims The Telegraph. The home secretary was given a demonstration of the Auror intelligence sharing system, which is used by retailers including Holland & Barrett, Boots and Morrisons.
She wants to make it easier for retailers to share data on repeat offenders, rather than working in “silos”, as part of the Home Office’s Safer Streets Summer campaign. M&S, Morrisons, Boots, Tesco, Primark, and Greggs are said to be submitting CCTV, photos and personal data on repeat shoplifters to the database. The plans are a little low on detail at the moment, but the Home Office believes that by clamping down on the worst offenders – around 10% of all shoplifters – overall rates could be cut by up to 70%.
US chocolate giants are lobbying the EU to drop its already-delayed deforestation law, writes the FT. The EU intends to ban imports of products containing cocoa and palm sourced from deforested land by the end of the year. Mondelez VP of corporate and government affairs for Europe Massimiliano di Domenico has called for the proposals to be delayed again, citing “record prices and supply shocks”. Mondelez previously supported the legislation.
Meanwhile, The Guardian picked up the rather amusing story that Mcvitie’s has written to a small biscuit museum in London, asking it to remove a display about Jaffa Cakes. McVitie’s referenced its high-profile tax row with HMRC in the nineties, pointing out that the orange treat is legally classified as a cake, rather than a biscuit.
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